EXPLORING FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POOR RANKING OF SCHOLARS AND TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

It is evident in literature that academic excellence globally is no longer determined by teaching and research alone; citation is now a cogent requirement. Based on Times Higher Education (THE), citation to scholars' published works share the same percentage with teaching and research. This has made the usefulness of citation to academic excellence a priority to the management of many higher education systems in developed and some developing nations. Citations to published papers are obtainable through the quality, visibility, and accessibility of researchers' outputs, irrespective of geographical location. The role of any nation's leadership in ensuring and maintaining quality education could engender the quality, visibility, and accessibility of other researchers in different parts of the world to her scholars' publications and the expected citations. In the past and in recent times, scholars and tertiary institutions in developed nations have been constantly rated higher in citations, while scholars and tertiary institutions in developing nations, such as Nigeria, have been poorly rated. When the position of Nigeria in the global ranking of scholars and tertiary institutions is compared with her enormous human and natural resources, the situation can simply be viewed as highly unsatisfactory. Though Nigeria is termed the Giant of Africa, tertiary institutions in South Africa, Kenya and Egypt have been rated higher than Nigerian institutions; hence Nigeria's position in the rating is considered a serious cause for concern and demands immediate attention. It is on this note the following questions are raised: What are the citation criteria and its usefulness to academic excellence? What could be attributed to the poor ranking of scholars and tertiary institutions in Nigeria? In what ways can the articles of Nigerian authors engender visibility and citations to attract better rating of its scholars and institutions? This paper examines these issues with the aim of offering solutions to improve on the current poor ranking of the Nigerian scholars and tertiary institutions. Data for this article, being a review paper were collected primarily through secondary sources.