A Solution-Based Position Paper of the Nigerian Young Academy on Sex-for-Grades Menace Across Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

The Nigerian Young Academy (NYA) was inaugurated by the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) at the instance of the Global Young Academy (GYA) based in Berlin, Germany. The Academy is a unified platform for interaction among brilliant young researchers below the age of 45 years in Nigeria from various research disciplines. The NYA promotes the application of collective research findings for the improvement of the Nigerian society and plays a crucial role in building inspirational figures for a new generation of researchers. The NYA has her core values entrenched in integrity and excellence in research, and fostering research collaborations among young researchers nationally and internationally. In line with its mission to use scientific research as a pivot for societal development, the NYA occasionally releases position papers on several issues in the Nigerian society. This current position paper relates to the increasing menace of sex-for-grades in the Nigerian tertiary education system. The important role of universities and academics in shaping the future of a society cannot be overemphasized. They serve as harbingers and producers of knowledge for the advancement of the society and the development of the human race. However, following the recent spike in the incidence of professional misconducts among university academics, especially with respect to sexual harassments in Nigeria, the reputation of the tertiary academic institutions in the country has been called into question. The NYA, as the mouthpiece of upcoming Nigerian academicians, believe that this will have a dire consequence on the future of younger academics, in particular, and the educational standards of the country in general. Therefore, we organized an indepth survey, and in consultation with literatures, a deep dive analysis of the unpleasant trend was conducted and we curated and harmonized workable solutions that could go a long way to address the menace and improve our educational standard and national life. Following our survey questionnaire administered via Google forms to academics and students across Universities in Nigeria, a total of 73 university academics and 183 university students who responded, opined that, professional ethics among university academics in Nigeria is very poor. In fact, 45% of the respondents have experienced inappropriate behaviour, even though over 70% of academics and 60% of students stated that it is inappropriate or very inappropriate for academics and their students to have consensual relationship. It is also very common for academics in Nigeria universities to demand for favours from students to influence their results. Indeed, representative data from the literature have indicated a prevalence of sexual harassment of 77% in two (unnamed) Nigerian Universities, 97% in tertiary institutions of Edo State, 36.7% in an institution of Ebonyi State, 8% in Colleges of North Eastern Nigeria, 7.1% in tertiary institutions of Maiduguri, Borno State, 44.4 % in some faith-based private universities and 32.2% of Nigerian female graduates serving in Oyo State.