Evaluation of engineering students output during covid-19 pandemic lockdown

COVID-19 pandemic lockdown effect is a global phenomenon that affects every sector of the world economy. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the extent to which COVID-19 lockdown impacted on Engineering education output in Nigeria and relate it vis-a-vis the ratio of government owned universities to private universities (PU) that graduated engineering students during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Nigeria. The survey design was adopted for this research. A cross-sectional survey of 65 universities offering engineering programmes was carried out using secondary data. The data obtained were analyzed and the results were compared with previous graduating years to ascertain the trend of deficit in numbers of trained engineers and revitalized them to the future impact in Nigeria and the global economy. Less than 5% of engineering students graduated during the 2020 academic year as a result of COVID-19 lockdown. 100% of both undergraduate and postgraduate graduated students were from PU because FU and SU lack the basic facilities to embark on online teaching and to conduct online examination. This further justified the demands from the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) on the need for the government to fund FU and SU adequately and functionally. Engineering students in Nigerian universities have no access to laboratories and research centres. The study has helped us to determine the extent of engineering educational training vulnerability. In conclusion, the government, all other stakeholders and international communities should invest adequate resources to eliminate engineering education challenges to guarantee a sustainable national and global economic development.