The problem of this study was to describe higher education in relation to economic development and social change in Nigeria.
The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the needs for economic development and social change in Nigeria; (2) to relate higher education goals to the identified needs; (3) to determine the perceptions of the participating groups of students, faculty members, academic administrators, and government officials about what priority of importance is being placed and should be placed on higher education goals to achieve the national needs; (4) to formulate recommendations for the future development of higher education in relation to economic development and social change in Nigeria.
Findings indicated that higher education policies in Nigeria were weak and often result in failure. Findings also showed that not only are the priorities established in the academic areas often inappropriate, but goals and objectives of higher education are not definitive due to successive interruptions in the Nigerian System.
On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that higher education in Nigeria be subjected to continuous experimentation and reconstruction to make it both the product and an agent of change; that research methodology in Nigeria be structured and adapted to local tools and needs so that the findings of any study may be representative of the true situation; that Nigerian universities be provided with research and training facilities that will enable them to make sufficient contributions to the development plans in the country; that emphasis on socioeconomic development be based on general knowledge and not only on science to the exclusion of other forms of discipline; and that cultural trimmings be incorporated into higher education planning and development. It was also recommended that education for economic development be positively planned so that it helps to spread economic opportunity and returns to ever widening groups in the society.
