School of General Studies in Tertiary Institutions: A Panacea for Students' Holistic Educational Training and National Growth and Development in Nigeria

This paper examines the role of the School of General Studies (GS) in Nigerian higher education institutions as a vital instrument for holistic education and sustainable national development. General Studies programmes are designed to complement students’ specialized disciplines by equipping them with transferable competencies such as civic responsibility, critical and creative thinking, ethical reasoning, entrepreneurial skills, and effective communication. Despite their relevance, GS programmes in Nigeria are often undervalued, underfunded, and inconsistently implemented across universities. Adopting a mixed-methods research approach, the study draws on document analysis, surveys, and semi-structured interviews to assess curriculum content, teaching practices, and perceived outcomes of GS courses in selected institutions. Findings indicate that GS contributes significantly to students’ civic orientation, intercultural awareness, ethical consciousness, and soft skills required for 21st-century employability. Nonetheless, persistent challenges were identified, including inadequate funding, lack of curriculum harmonization, limited pedagogical innovation, low student engagement, and insufficient professional training for academic staff. The study recommends curriculum standardization across institutions, increased funding for GS units, continuous professional development for lecturers, and the integration of contemporary competencies such as digital literacy, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship into GS curricula. It argues that repositioning GS as a core rather than peripheral component of tertiary education will enable Nigerian universities to produce well-rounded graduates capable of excelling professionally while contributing to democratic governance, social cohesion, and economic transformation. This research contributes to ongoing debates on higher education reform in Nigeria by demonstrating that a revitalized General Studies programme can bridge graduate skills gaps, foster civic responsibility, and serve as a catalyst for sustainable national growth and development.