The Nation Newspaper

Tag: varsities’

  • That threat by NANS to shut private varsities

    Sir: I initially ignored the news because I couldn’t fathom how and why Nigerian students would contemplate shutting down private varsities.

    How did the students come to the erroneous conclusion that political office-holders who have failed to yield to the demands of their lecturers all send their children to private universities?

    I finished from a private university. While I can’t conclusively say that none of my coursemates has a politician parent, I can conveniently say that at least over 80% of them don’t have politician/political office-holder parents. Among us were those who were self-sponsored and really struggled to finance their tertiary education. To now disrupt activities in these universities just because of the negligible few who are not themselves directly responsible for the lingering strike would never be justifiable.

    Secondly, majority of students in these private universities are themselves victims of our moribund education sector. Many were forced to study in these universities after several failed attempts to study in public universities. Many left public universities for private varsities because of the perennial strikes which make their academic calendar uncertain – the same reason why some misinformed students would now shut down activities in private universities.

    Thirdly, if NANS would shut down private varsities because they think political office-holders’ children study in these schools, then, it may be justifiable for the populace to shut down private hospitals each time health workers are on strike. If these students are not cowards, they should rather shut down the Federal Ministry of Education and its agencies, the handlers of which are directly answerable to ASUU.

    Private varsities are private concerns and are distinct from government properties and businesses. That you or your sponsor should not be a political office-holder is not a requirement to gain admission into private varsities; why should it even be a requirement? These schools pay licence fees and several other levies to the government. It is also imperative to add that our private universities actually came to salvage the sector from the mess it was before they came into existence. Little is left to be imagined on what could have been the situation if these varsities were not in existence when we compare the number of admission seekers with spaces available in the public universities.

    The ugly development is yet another evidence of the sad state of affairs in our student associations. We hope for a vibrant NANS which will deal with issues the appropriate way and be led by responsible students.

    • Abbas Abdullah Adebayo ACA

    Ibadan, Nigeria.

     

  • Varsities need proper funding, says Ekiti deputy governor

    Ekiti State Deputy Governor Prof. Modupe Adelabu has urged the Federal Government to fund universities adequately.

    She said this would ensure the production of quality graduates.

    Lamenting that graduates of Nigerian universitieswereunemployable in the local and international markets, Mrs. Adelabu said “our higher institutions have become shadows of their glorious past”.

    She spoke with reporters in Ado- Ekiti, the state capital, on the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Mrs. Adelabu said it was shameful that the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, which has been ranked the best in the country, occupies the eighth position in Africa.

    She urged stakeholders to return to the drawing board and come up with a lasting solution to the recurring issue of varsity under-funding.

    The deputy governor said: “I am sure it will end very soon. It cannot go on like this. More so, our universities are no more competitive. Our graduates are unemployable because the universities are shadows of themselves. Instructional materials are no more there; the environment is no more conducive and the varsities are under-funded. We cannot go on like this.

    “OAU, which has been ranked No. 1 in Nigeria, is No. 8 in Africa. This is disturbing. There was a time when Nigerian universities ranked among the best internationally. I think it is better for the Federal Government and ASUU to settle the matter once and for all, so that we will not have to revisit the funding of varsities and some other issues again.”

    On allegations that the lecturers were pursuing their personal agenda, she said: “I do not think ASUU is concerned for selfish reasons. They are trying to protect the future of the children they are training, so that they would be able to compete with others in the market when they graduate.

    “We will continue to wallow in poverty if our gradu ates are unemployable. We cannot go on like this. Research has shown that Nigerian graduates are unemployable, except those who have very rich parents, who can send them to schools abroad or to private institutions. We want our public institutions to be well funded, so that teaching and learning can take place.”

  • ASUU chief urges Fed Govt to check high fees in private varsities

    An official of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr Uzochukwu Onyebinama, yesterday urged the Federal Government to check high fees in private universities.

    Dr Onyebinama, the union’s Chairman at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

    He said charging exorbitant fees negated the core principle of education and had negative effects on the overall development of knowledge.

    The ASUU chairman described education as a social service, adding: “A situation where most private universities collect N500,000 to N1.2 million as fees per session is wrong. The core motive for the establishment of educational institution is to provide social service and not for commercial gains.

    “ASUU is, therefore, seeking the government’s timely intervention in private, federal and state-owned universities because of the understanding that education is a social service and not commercial venture.

    “The government should ensure that every Nigerian child has access to basic and quality education irrespective of the financial status of his/her parents.”

    On the union’s ongoing strike, Onyebinama said the ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike because of the level of decay in the universities.

    He urged the Federal Government to set aside funds to improve poor infrastructure and grant financial autonomy to the universities.

    The ASUU chairman stressed the need to revitalise the higher education sector in order for it to complete favourably with others in the world.

    “There is the urgent need by government to tackle the problem of emigration of Nigerian students and brain drain to other countries.

    “These can only be achieved if financial autonomy and poor infrastructure facing the tertiary education sector are addressed.

    “As our people leave to study outside, there is capital flight and that capital is used to develop the facilities elsewhere,” Dr Onyebinama said.

    The union leader said the strike was a continuation of last year’s February over the unsigned agreement between the leadership of the union and the Federal Government.

    “There are several issues, including, funding, federal assistance to state universities, issue of amendment of the Act establishing JAMB and NUC,” he said.

    He said other issues involved in the strike were the “establishment of National Universities Pension Commission, end allowances, among others”.

    Onyebinama advised government to address the issues to reposition the Nigerian university system.

    The ASUU chairman advised students to enrol for ICT training and vacation jobs rather than idle away during the period of the strike.

     

     

  • Govt orders audit of federal varsities’ staff, students

    Govt orders audit of federal varsities’ staff, students

    The Federal Government has ordered federal universities to undertake a comprehensive audit of their staff and students.

    In line with the directive, the University of Abuja yesterday inaugurated a five-member panel chaired by Prof. A. Y. Ribadu, a former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Yola.

    Others are Professors Anthony Adegbulugbe and Ediga Agbo; Hajia Aisha Babangida and Dr. Godswill Ogboghodo.

    Inaugurating the committee, the Chairman Governing Council of UNIABUJA, Dr. S.O. Ogbemudia urged the panel to determine the member and regularity of appointments of the Academic and Non Academic Staff, their qualifications; number of students, regularity of their admission and their different courses.

    The panel is also to determine the staff productivity and career progression; recommendations for improvement in future staff appointment and students’ admission, and any other recommendations the panel considers relevant among others.

    Ogbemudia who said the panel had four weeks for the task pointed out that “planning without statistics is as good as failure to plan. In a University, planning with inadequate or false statistics is worse than not planning”.

    The Vice Chancellor, Professor James Adelabu promised to provide the panel with all logistics support.

     

  • VC laments varsities, agencies’ disconnect

    The Vice-Chancellor of the Niger State-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBBU), Lapai, Niger State, Prof Ibrahim Kolo has accused development agencies and manufacturing industries of not utilising research findings by scholars from the nation’s Ivory Towers to fast track the country development.

    Speaking during the university’s first inaugural lecture, the Vice- Chancellor noted that researches carried out in many areas of human endeavors with proven solutions by many scholars are abound but lamented that such findings are not being developed for the benefit of the country by our industries, development and government agencies.

    Kolo said: ”In Nigeria, there is disconnect between what the universities are doing in the area of research and what development agencies are doing. Government is supposed to build on what the university researchers have done, but that is not the case. The fact is there can be no development without researchers input.

    “IBBUL like other universities has the mandate to teach and carry out researches in various areas of human endeavour. The sad aspect is that our development agencies and industries are not utilizing these findings. In developed countries findings of researches carried out by their universities are improved upon, but here we are yet to do that”.

    The don cited the feat recorded by the Federal University of Technology, Minna in developing Typhoid fever vaccine, but lamented that nothing has been done by various developmental agencies and companies on it after years of research and findings.

    In order to remain relevant and in an effort to fulfill its mandate Kolo said that IBBUL lecturers, researchers and students are encouraged to carry out researches into areas of relevance to the state in particular and Nigeria.

    In his 55-page lecture titled ”Mycotoxins: are they the silent killers,” Gbodi, a Professor of Toxicology noted that Mycotoxins have dealt a great havoc on the food sector of the economy, stressing that livestock and farm produce are worst hit, as it takes its toll on the health and economy of the people and country.

     

     

    Gbodi then called on National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective monitoring of importation and exportation of regulated food to ensure quality.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Senate approves 10 varsities

    Senate approves 10 varsities

    The Senate yesterday adopted the conference reports on 10 new federal universities.

    The report was presented by Chairman, Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije.

    Before the were adoption Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, prayed the Senate to consolidate the reports since they dealt with the same issue.

    The adoption of the conference reports meant giving legal backing to the new universities created by the Federal Government in last year.

    Senate President David Mark, in his remarks warned that the institutions must be adequately funded.

    Mark also urged the universities to ensure the production of quality and world class- graduates.

    The affected universities included Federal University of Dutsin-ma, Katsina State; Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State; Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Federal University of Lokoja, Kogi State; Federal University of Ndufu-Alike Ikow, Ebonyi State; Federal University of Otuoke, Bayelsa State; Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State and Federal University of Dutse, Jigawa State.

    Others are Federal University Wukari, Taraba State and Federal University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

     

  • Six varsities to rescue UniAbuja engineering students

    •Documents of 334 students for screening

    Engineering students of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) whose studies were disrupted due to non-accreditation, are to be posted to six universities to complete their courses.

    The Chairman of the Task Team to the university, Prof. Chiedu Felix Mafiana, said this yesterday at a news briefing in Abuja after a meeting with vice-chancellors of the six universities.

    Mafiana said the 334 affected students are to be posted to the University of Ilorin, Federal University of Technology, Akure and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.

    Others are Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Federal University of Technology, Minna and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

    The Task Team Chairman said the 500-level students would complete their courses at the Federal University of Technology, Minna and those in 400 and 300-levels are to be posted to the other five universities.

    Said he: “Students with qualification problems and those that did not have the requisite qualification to study engineering will not have a place in these universities.

    “They, however, have a choice of transferring to other departments in the university.”

    According to him, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had agreed to “regularise” those who have the requisite qualifications, but did not go through JAMB.

    Prof. Mafiana said the students were expected to take a “leave of absence for the remaining part of this session and join their new universities in the next academic year.”

    He said the 500-level students’ certificates would carry the name of UniAbuja upon graduation from their new universities.

    Mafiana, who is also a director of Quality Assurance at the National Universities Commission (NUC), said the decision was taken after the Task Team visited and discovered that UniAbuja might not be able to graduate the students because the facilities for running the course had not been put in place.

    He hailed the management of the six universities for accepting the students and urged them (students) to abide by the rules and regulations governing their new universities.

    The Chairman of the Task Team thanked NUC for accepting to provide logistics and additional support for the students “so that they do not become a burden to the universities.”

  • ASUU worried over ‘lawlesness in varsities’

    ASUU worried over ‘lawlesness in varsities’

    NIGERIAN varsities are gradually turning into havens of lawlessness and the authorities are not bothered, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) alerted yesterday

    The union’s National President, Dr. Nasir F. Isa, raised the alarm in a chat with reporters at the ASUU secretariat in Bayero University Kano (BUK), in Kano State.

    He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently intervene in the crisis-ridden varsities to protect the future of the youth.

    Among the issues raised by the ASUU leader include: killing of students at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK); leadership crisis at Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST); disregard for court orders at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN); release of a White Paper on President Jonathan’s special visitation to University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) and the need for reconstitution of Governing Councils for federal varsities.

    The ASUU leadership called for a full-scale investigation on the killing of two students at NSUK with a bid to bringing culprits to justice.

    According to Isa, besides the death of the two students , more than 20 others received varying degrees of injuries.

    He pointed out that experience over the years has shown that recourse to military intervention in civil matters like students’ unrest had never yielded the desired result.

    His words: “The questions begging for answers, however, are: why would the authorities of NSUK refuse to provide basic boreholes that can sufficiently meet the water needs of their students?

    “Why would they refuse to respond to the entreaties and eventual warnings of the students before February 25? Why did the authorities of NSUK ignore the students’ lecture boycott of February 25? Who invited the military to quell students’ peaceful protest? Who ordered the shootings and killings of varsity students?

    “We are requesting the visitor to NSUK to institute an inquiry into the killings of our students. We are warning that unless the immediate and remote causes of the killings are identified and appropriate punitive measures taken against the killers of our innocent students. Our union will leave no stone unturned in our pursuance of justice to all the victims of this madness.

     

    “Never again shall we fold our arms and watch as trigger-happy soldiers and/or police officers murder or students in cold blood. Never again shall we allow such murderers to go unpunished and be unleashed to another set of innocent citizens, to kill again.”

    Isa also condemned the action of Rivers State Governor Mr. Rotimi Amaechi for allegedly imposing Prof. B.B. Fakaye for second-term as Vice Chancellor of RSUST without following due process.

    He said: “Contrary to Governor Amaechi’s promise to our members and other workers at RSUST, the Visitor connived with the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Justice A.G.Karibi-Whyte (rtd) to re-appoint Prof. Fakaye initially as acting vice chancellor and subsequently confirmed him as the substantive in utter violation of the laid down procedures.”

    He accused the National University Commission (NUC) for taking side in the RSUST crisis, pointing out that the regulatory failed in its duty “to critically and objectively investigate the unhealthy university governance process at RSUST.”

    The ASUU leader also frowned at the non-payment of salaries and entitlement to its members at UNILORIN, following their recall by a Supreme Court judgment.

    He said: “The continued disregard for law and legal authorities at UNILORIN will not serve the overall interest of the university and the country.

    “The President and visitor to the University of Illorin should impress it on the managers of the institution to embrace openness and democratic ethos by implmenting court judgments to the letter and allow its staffers to exercise their rights to unionise without let or hindrance.”

     

  • Varsities urged to comply with NUC guidelines

    Varsities urged to comply with NUC guidelines

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie has called on Senates of Nigerian universities to ensure adequate compliance with all guidelines from NUC for the establishment of programmes and the establishment of department.

    He said the days of running programmes in unapproved centres without qualified academics are gone.

    “Departments and programmes should not be mounted as a means of creating empires for ourselves in the system. I have always warned my colleagues in the university that if we cannot regulate ourselves then we will leave our Senate to be regulated by politicians,” he added.

    Delivering the 18th convocation lecture of the Lagos State University (LASU) entitled: Quality Assurance and the Challenges of Mandate Delivery in Nigerian Universities, Okojie said some of the challenges affecting the delivery of quality mandate in Nigeria include funding, which affects the quality of teaching, learning and research facilities. He said the quantity and quality of learning resources to be provided to make a conducive environment is dependent of the volume of financial resource made available to the institution.

    Represented by Prof Adebisi Balogun, former VC of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Okojie said other problems are dilapidated physical infrastructure, inadequate manpower, student enrolment and access, leadership and governance.

    Defining quality assurance as the policies, systems, strategies and resources used by the institution to certify that its quality requirement and standards are being met, he said the job of a QA agency is to see that standards processes and policies are in place and carried out.

    Saying that some universities have developed their master plan and strategic plan with identified goals and action plan for 25 years, he asked if LASU has one.

    For efficient service delivery, he said the NUC encourages universities to have a SERVICOM unit, continually develop a system that seeks to improve the provision of service with emphasis on future results, develop statistical tools to understand sub-systems, uncover problems and identify processes for further improvement, and set goals for the measurement of results that will prevent future failures.

     

  • ICPC uncovers sexual harassment, 49 other corrupt practices in varsities

    ICPC uncovers sexual harassment, 49 other corrupt practices in varsities

    The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, yesterday said sexual harassment tops more than 50 corrupt practices identified in Nigerian universities.

    He also said operators of more than 20 illegal universities in the country will soon be arrested and prosecuted.

    Nta spoke at a briefing in Abuja at the presentation of a pilot study on the ongoing ICPC comprehensive Systems Study and Review of Nigerian Universities, being done in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    The Study Review panel, headed by NUC’s former Executive Secretary, Prof. Peter Okebukola, also had a commissioner in ICPC, Prof. Olu Aina as one of the members.

    Nta listed over 50 corrupt practices being perpetuated in the universities.

    Some of the corrupt practices are non-adherence to the carrying capacity of the National Universities Commission (NUC); non-adherence to rules and regulations guiding admission; political interference in the admission process of the University; inadequate funding which encourages Universities to engage in over enrolment of students in order to generate IGR to run the Institution; lack of proper monitoring and the absence of punitive measures taken against the University by NUC; sale of examination questions and other examination-related information; gratification and inducement to manipulate award of marks/grades; swapping of grades; writing of examination by proxy; direct cheating in examination; and delay in the release of results

    Others are delay of students from graduating due to poor record keeping and deliberate victimisation by officials; manipulation of internal examination processes; delay in take-off of lectures and non-completion of syllabus by lecturers; non-adherence to students/lecturer ratio results in over-crowding of classes; lack of commitment to work by the lecturers; continued defiance by institutions of the ban on satellite programmes/campuses by NUC

    The list also includes frequent strike action by staff and students interrupting the academic calendar; sales of lecture notes, hand-outs and text-books; non-provision of adequate and appropriate practical apparatus; late opening and early closing of library

    Stealing and mutilation of library books; inadequate/irrelevant (outdated) textbooks; inadequate reading tables and chairs; corruption in the allocation of official bed spaces in student hostels by the managers; influencing of allocation by students engaging in gratification and bribery of staff; sale of examination questions and other examination-related information

    The ICPC chairman said: “Sexual harassment seems to rank extremely very high among corrupt practices uncovered in our universities. Our report is based on the quantum of petitions we have received on this corrupt practice. We are emphasising this because sexual harassment has to do with the immediate challenge we need to address.

    “We have uncovered many corrupt practices in our universities.

    “You will be surprised to find out that even the allocation of space has become a racket in some universities we have looked into.”

    Nta spoke on what informed how ICPC and NUC decided to go for the system review

    He said: “Based on intelligence, petitions, complaints and public comments against the University system in Nigeria , ICPC invoked its statutory mandate derived from Section 6 (b-d) of its enabling law to undertake a comprehensive Systems Study and Review of Nigerian Universities. Systems’ Study and Review is one of the activities of the Commission designed to actualize the preventive mandate of the Commission.

    “The University Systems Study and Review is a fact-finding and problem-solving strategy that involves the examination of current policies, practices, procedures, behaviours and systems of public bodies to determine if they aid corruption and to what extent they are prone to do so.

    “The report of such exercise is expected to be reviewed with the institution/agency involved for implementation.