Assessment of Electricity Access and Education Outcomes in Nigerian Universities
Abstract
Enhancing education outcomes has been the major aim of several global development agendas. One of the major targets of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) specifically SDG 4 strives to eradicate inequalities in educational attainment by providing inclusive and quality education for everyone by 2030. This study assesses the influence of electricity access and education outcomes in Nigerian universities. The university system is a critical institution for human capital development and Nigeria has been stuck in the low human capital development category for decades. Previous related studies on electricity availability and educational attainment have predominately employed variables that do not document the comprehensive nature of education outcomes. Additionally, these studies focus primarily on lower-level students rather than university students. Specifically, data were gathered from 984 respondents across the various university in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study uses both descriptive and Tobit model to analyse the survey data. The study discovered that the availability of electricity exerts a significant positive impact on students’ academic performance, increases students’ satisfaction with their learning environment, and stimulates students’ participation in academic activities. Put differently, this study concludes that unreliable and inadequate electricity supply in Nigeria is deleterious to educational achievements, undermines students’ satisfaction with their learning experience and impedes students’ participation in academic activities. Given the study’s outcome, it is recommended that policymakers should prioritize the development and maintenance of power generation and distribution systems to ensure a stable and continuous supply of electricity. This could be achieved by integrating renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to provide a more reliable and sustainable solution. Universities should therefore be encouraged and supported to adopt hybrid energy systems that combine traditional power sources with renewable energy to mitigate the impact of power outages.