The human factor and tertiary education

The' most obvious way in Human Factor (HF) development, among others, is formal education. Osuji (1985) says that developing countries have always been blessed with human beings but not necessarily human capital, and that the place of formal education in manpower development is well understood. According to Holsinger and Regel (1993), an increase in the education level of a country’s population has come to be linked with economic growth and reduction in poverty. He cited as proof the experience of Japan and other East Asian countries which are adjudged to have achieved impressive rates of growth through human factor policies. Hardison (1973) and Falunwa (1974) said that Nigeria as an emerging slate was faced with the task of not only maintaining its economic growth, but also accelerating it. According to Hardison, modem dams and power stations can be constructed within a few years but it takes between 10 to 15 years to develop the managers, administrators and engineers to man them. Also, school and college buildings can be created in a matter of months but it requires decades to develop high-level teachers and professors.

A position paper on what role the human factor can play in tertiary education in Africa.