Educational system for a very long time has always had it spotlight on students when it comes to assessments, how are their grades like? Are they punctual to class? Do they attended classes? How often are assignments being given to them to keep them busy and also make sure that they actually understand whatever course they are being taught in school?
However, have we ever thought about Evaluating the lecturers, or are they immune to mistakes because they are lecturers? The same level of scrutiny should be applied to those in front of the classroom(lecturers). When I talk about assessment, I’m not talking about their qualifications, teaching experiences, researches or the amount of publications they have.
I’m talking about their character towards students, how often they attend classes, how emphatic they are, and how they manage their work life with their personal life.
In Nigeria, some where lecturers act like mini gods, mostly the high professors in the departments who believes that because if their achievements and position no body can questions their authority. They exhibit some questionable characters like during exams where you’ll hear lecturers say words like “no matter what you write and who you call, you must carry this course over”. How can one fail a course when the script has not being marked?
Most of them get away with things like this mostly because of their position in academics and they believe people below them can’t interfere with whatever decision they make, forgetting that most of their decisions has an effect in the life of the student.
Student evaluation of lecturers at the end of every semester would bring about accountability, just as students get their grades and comments on their work for the semester, lecturers getting evaluation on their teaching methods, communication and classroom engagement skills would reflect their performance and also help make necessary improvement.
The practice of this evaluation should however be done anonymously to avoid victimization of students and also to ensure honesty from the students.
Evaluation of lecturers also improves quality of teaching and it help to ensure that lecturer attends classes. Many student can attest to sitting through lectures that are poorly delivered by lecturers, some lectures don’t take their time to lecture student, some of them just send the students pdfs and handout that’s are sometimes complicated or too complex to understand by just reading, some of the lecturers may not even attend classes. If these issues are not reported and it continues year after year, it would negatively affect the academic experience and performance of students.
And this is seen where student rarely attend the lectures of someone lecturers in their defense they say things like “you might be in the class for 4 hours and you won’t understand what’s going on in the class”, and this is mostly caused by poor lectures delivery.
Regular evaluations help identify these issues early and provide data that institutions can use to offer training or take corrective measures. The goal isn’t to shame lecturers but to promote continuous improvement in how knowledge is delivered.
Implementing lecturer evaluations strengthens student engagement and morale. When students know that their voices matter, they feel more respected and involved and evaluating their lecturers gives them a chance express their experience, which also makes them an active participants in shaping their education.
In conclusion, allowing students to evaluate their lecturers is not about undermining authority or encouraging disrespect. It is about fostering a culture of mutual accountability, professional growth, and improved learning outcomes. If we trust lecturers to shape the minds of students, then we should also trust students to offer feedback on how effectively that responsibility is being carried out.
Ogbonna, Queen Chiamaka
Nnamdi Azikiwe University
