- By Sunday Olagunju
Sir: Universities are citadels of learning and staunch builders of character. Erudition, awesomeness in learning and benign character are the defining attributes of universities as centres of learning and research.
When people advocate maturity as basis for admission of students in the universities, they seem to want to obviate two evils that are rampant among students of higher institutions of learning, namely: the tendency towards sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Given the heterogeneity of university students and their background, there is always a culture which acts as a unifier and as a leveller to which all the students must subscribe to and adhere to as both given and basic.
Sadly, the rapid implosion in the establishment of universities and the inability to provide accommodations for the vast majority of intakes seems to be fast eroding this systemic culture to which the university as a system is noteworthy.
There is a copious difference and dissimilarity between the town and the gown and students coming into the university must be ready to imbibe the philosophical ethos of ideas, learning and civility, including the benign character, to which the university system is uniquely known.
With the abrogation of hostel accommodation, whereby most students have become virtually day students, there is a gradual creeping of open lawlessness and gross indiscipline into most university campuses.
In the sixties, even down the eighties when university students were fully accommodated, universities took on the toga of unique villages which cultural ethos all students freely subscribe to and be part of.
It was a taboo in those days not to recognize your lecturer, even though they were seldom seen around. In those days, you could hardly look a lecturer in the face, let alone have a roughshod encounter with him or her.
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Students feared misconducts that are exposable or could lead to expulsion because universities were fewer and possibility of securing alternative admission was either remote or non-existent.
Today, the preponderance of universities, both public and private means that an expelled student can always secure admission to other available universities, without even time lag. This has further eroded discipline and decorum of behaviour by most students.
Apart from the few crisis in the universities like those of the 60s during the Professor Saburi Biobaku Vs Eni Njoku over the vice chancellorship of the University of Lagos, when a student Kayode Adams stabbed Biobaku and Ali Must Go episode at the University of Ibadan which led to the death of Kunle Adepeju, a part four student, universities were generally peaceful and accommodating.
While most private universities have accommodation for their students, most public universities are partly with the majority of the students living off the campuses. Given the growing moral decadence in the society, there is no vice chancellor that can vouchsafe for the characters of off campus students in the act of maintaining law and discipline within the campuses.
Most universities produce half-baked graduates in both learning and character and this also reflect in their attitudinal disposition to work and ethical life on graduation. To achieve a wholesome recovery of the universities from the group of lawless and undisciplined students, universities should advocate for private partnership for hostels development so that most students can live within the four walls of the universities to imbibe both the culture of learning, harmonious living, bond of friendship, mutual consideration and respect for lives, culture and worth of human being as life’s greatest asset.
•Sunday Olagunju
Ibadan, Oyo State.
