Leveraging franchising for private university expansion in Nigeria

Across the World many educational investments are exploring new ways to expand like other sectors. In the developing countries however, most organizations are exploring new ways to generate more revenue, create employment opportunities, and strengthen neighborhood societies while, underutilizing franchising means of expansion.

This paper therefore, emphasizes on how franchising could be leveraged to improve the quality of services provided by private higher institutions. This entrepreneurial model prescribes to any resource manager with necessary experience the use of template of successful institutions to start a new educational institution while, extending the brand and curriculum of its parent institution under a franchise agreement. Though relatively new in Nigeria but booming in America, Europe and Asia, among other continents, Franchising occurs when the operator of a concept or system (the franchisor) grants an independent businessperson (the franchisee) the right to duplicate its entire business format at a particular location and for a specified period, under terms and conditions set forth in the contract (franchise agreement). This model was a routine to the fortunes of businesses like Cisco academy, NIIT, Aptech, Oracle University, Dura clean, McDonald and many more.

Franchising is therefore a mission imperative for the nation's educational system by making education more accessible perhaps, bridging the divide between human development and virtual knowledge industries. As developed nations keep striving to remain in t he lead, developing nations keep struggling to improve the overall health of their educational system. With particular reference to Nigeria, this paper recommends that regulatory agencies take into cognizance the international franchise practices and standards. As education franchising expands access link to education, employment opportunities, human development, and provision of educational programmes with global relevance amongst others. Mahatma Gandhi said several decades ago that, “… education is for life, education is through life, and education is throughout life.”