By Sunday Ameh
Education stakeholders have called on the Federal Government and the National Universities Commission to stop Nigerian universities from making publication in Scopus-indexed journals a compulsory requirement for the promotion of academic staff, arguing that such a policy undermines fairness, academic freedom and the growth of indigenous scholarly publications.
The call formed the highlight of a policy dialogue organised by the Institute of Educational Planning, Policy, Management, Project, Monitoring and Evaluation, where scholars examined whether publication in Scopus-indexed journals should remain a mandatory criterion for promotion to the ranks of Associate Professor and Professor.
Leading the discussion, the Acting President of the institute, Dr. Ogunode Niyi Jacob, urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC to formulate a national policy prohibiting universities from making Scopus publication compulsory for promotion.
Jacob argued that academic promotion should be determined by the quality, originality, relevance and societal impact of research rather than the indexing status of the journal. According to him, several reputable journals that contribute significantly to national development are not indexed in Scopus, while the high publication charges imposed by many Scopus-indexed journals place heavy financial burdens on academics and encourage a “publish-for-promotion” culture.
Also speaking, the Ag. Deputy Registrar of the institute, Dr. Ayodele Ebunolu Nwisagbo, said making Scopus publication compulsory was neither equitable nor consistent with international best practices.
She noted that leading universities across the world assess academic promotion through broader indicators, including research quality and impact, teaching effectiveness, postgraduate supervision, innovation, research grants, institutional service and community engagement.
Nwisagbo warned that an exclusive emphasis on Scopus-indexed journals could increase financial pressure on lecturers, encourage predatory publishing, weaken reputable local journals and widen disparities among universities with different research capacities.
She recommended a holistic promotion framework that recognises publications in reputable journals alongside other measurable academic contributions.
Contributing, the Acting Registrar of the institute, Dr. Deborah Jegede, urged the NUC to direct universities to adopt a comprehensive promotion framework that evaluates research quality, teaching effectiveness, postgraduate supervision, research grants, innovation, community service and academic leadership.
According to her, such a policy would strengthen quality assurance and promote fairness without restricting promotion to publications indexed in a single database.
In his remarks, Dr. Ahaotu Godwin Ndubuisi described the exclusive reliance on Scopus-indexed journals as unnecessarily restrictive, saying several journals of international academic repute exist outside the database.
He argued that the high cost of publishing in many Scopus-indexed journals is beyond the reach of many lecturers and appealed to the NUC and the Federal Ministry of Education to review the policy.
Offering a different perspective, Dr. Omozusi Mercy acknowledged that Scopus-indexed journals promote research quality, international visibility and global competitiveness.
She, however, cautioned against making Scopus publication the sole criterion for promotion, noting that such a policy could disadvantage early-career academics, scholars in disciplines with limited Scopus-indexed journals and researchers working in poorly funded institutions.
She advocated a balanced policy that encourages publication in reputable local and international journals while providing greater institutional support through research grants and capacity building.
Speaking from an indigenous perspective, Dr. Olumide A., a Trustee of the institute, called for greater investment in Nigerian academic journals instead of excessive dependence on foreign publishing platforms.
He argued that local journals could attain international recognition if they embraced rigorous peer-review systems, ethical publishing practices and globally accepted editorial standards.
Olumide cited the successful Scopus indexing of the Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, founded by Dr. Gever Celestine, as proof that Nigerian journals can achieve global recognition when quality standards are consistently maintained.
Similarly, Counsellor Idigun Ovie urged Nigerian universities to strengthen indigenous journals by improving editorial processes, peer-review systems and publication ethics, rather than relying almost entirely on foreign journals.
Also contributing, Dr. Ukpai argued that Nigerian scholars already possess the expertise required to produce globally competitive journals, insisting that greater confidence should be placed in indigenous academic publications.
He maintained that overdependence on foreign journals diminishes local scholarship and innovation, adding that strengthening Nigerian journals would improve their credibility and international visibility.
On her part, Dr. Njideka Gloria Ikegbusi maintained that although publication in Scopus-indexed journals should be encouraged, it should not be made compulsory.
She recommended that promotion should instead be based on a comprehensive assessment of research quality, teaching effectiveness, postgraduate supervision, innovation, community engagement and service to the university.
Ikegbusi also urged the NUC to provide broad quality assurance guidelines while allowing universities sufficient flexibility to determine their promotion criteria.
Also speaking, Abbas Rashidat Bukola, a Trustee of the institute, recommended that universities should adopt multiple quality indicators in evaluating academic staff.
She said promotion should consider research quality and impact, teaching effectiveness, postgraduate supervision, innovation, community service and publications in reputable national and international journals irrespective of their indexing platform.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Dr. Nurudeen Olalekan Orunbon proposed the establishment of globally competitive Nigerian academic publishing platforms comparable to leading international publishers.
According to him, Nigerian professors possess the intellectual capacity to develop indigenous publishing systems that can compete globally and reduce dependence on foreign publishing organisations.
The participants generally agreed that while publication in internationally recognised journals remains important for enhancing research quality and global visibility, academic promotion should not depend exclusively on a single indexing platform.
They urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC to adopt a more inclusive promotion policy that balances research excellence with teaching effectiveness, innovation, mentorship, community engagement, institutional service and the strengthening of indigenous academic journals.
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