The Nation Newspaper

Tag: varsities’

  • Varsities of bedbugs

    •Public universities must reinvent themselves

    Nigeria’s public universities continue to struggle with challenges which range from the existential to the ridiculous. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) recently displayed the latest manifestation of this phenomenon when its students protested the onslaught of bedbugs in their hostels and the deaths of their colleagues at the hands of hit-and-run drivers on campus.

    The bedbug plague in OAU is so serious that many students have taken to sleeping in hostel corridors and on a football pitch. New students have avoided taking their luggage into hostels in order to avoid infestation. In an open letter to the university’s management, the President of the OAU Students’ Union, Mr. Edward I. Oyekan, demanded that bedbugs be removed from the hostels, and threatened a showdown if nothing was done.

    The killing of students by reckless drivers is a persistent worry that is all the more disturbing given that it occurs within the campus. On December 28, 2016, a 400-level Medical student was knocked down by a speeding driver on his way to the university’s teaching hospital. The lack of speed breakers, especially on Road One, appears to be a major cause, in addition to the wanton recklessness of some of the drivers using those roads.

    OAU’s difficulties can be replicated across Nigeria in most of the public tertiary institutions, where a toxic combination of poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, exploding populations and unimaginative administration have made life very difficult for students.

    On-campus student housing is often crowded, filthy and utterly unworthy of the ideals of any educational institution, much less those of a university. University administrations shamelessly avoid their responsibilities by pleading the absence of funds, as if poverty can justify incompetence.

    This disgraceful lack of regard for the welfare of their own students often extends to safety issues. Apart from the risks students face on campus roads, they confront them indoors as well; classrooms and hostels rarely have multiple exits or fire extinguishers, and safety drills are almost never practiced. When they are brought into university clinics and hospitals with life-threatening conditions, they regularly experience indifferent treatment and negligent care.

    Students themselves aggravate an already-bad situation by their constant refusal to obey regulations governing the usage of hostel facilities.

    They are the ones who smuggle friends and relatives into already-packed hostels. Continual warnings against the use of hotplates, irons and similar devices are routinely defied, in spite of the fire risks and high electricity bills they cause.

    Toilets and bathrooms are never kept clean or functional by those who use them, and hostel surroundings are usually extremely dirty, no matter how hard cleaners and porters work. Attempts by university authorities to increase hostel fees to make them better-run are resisted by the same students who have no compunction in selling bed spaces at outrageous prices to their own colleagues.

    University authorities must approach the situation with the seriousness that it deserves. More money must be devoted to the running of hostels and raising safety standards on campus. If internally-generated revenues cannot meet these objectives, then universities will have to appeal to their alumni and to the general public, with the assurance that the funds so generated will be managed in a transparent and competent manner.

    Regular meetings between university management and students on welfare issues will ensure that all parties understand the challenges and guarantee that viable solutions are jointly arrived at. Greater attention should be paid to the construction of hostels on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis, thereby eliminating the need for universities to get involved in the intricacies of hostel management.

    Nigeria’s public universities must know that the rejuvenation of hostel and related facilities on campus cannot be separated from their research and teaching functions. Disease-ridden students forced to contend with unsafe environments cannot be expected to compete effectively with their counterparts from other parts of the world.

  • Why private varsities are stronger

    In 1948, the university education started in Nigeria when the first university was established in Ibadan. The University of Ibadan came to being after Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) was established as the first tertiary institution.

    In the wake of the birth of Third Republic in 1999, the deregulation of the economy saw the emergence of private universities. The financial crisis facing states of the federation encouraged the establishment of the private universities, which are increasing till date.

    It should be observed that the quest to give more choices to the ever-increasing number of admission seekers necessitated the establishment of private universities. Since then, there have been about 60 approved private universities in the country.

    Just like the public universities, private tertiary institutions in Nigeria are also being ranked and reviewed annually. Presently, on the table of ranking, some private universities like Benson Idahosa University, Babcock University and Covenant University have better standing among universities, both public and private.

    No parent would like to compromise quality for names. Many have augured that private universities are expensive, but the truth is that good life is not expensive but it is the creation that is expensive. These schools give you value for your money; education shouldn’t be so cheap.

    Former president of Harvard University, Derek Bok, famously said: “If you think education is expensive try ignorance.”

    We should also know that the fees of public-owned tuition have increased and are not as cheap as they used to be.

    Most of these private varsities have decided to deploy the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to impart knowledge on students, while many public-owned institutions lag behind in this respect. Students, who attend private schools, are easily linked with mentors and research groups as done in many globally-acclaimed schools, but most of our public schools cannot do this.

    Public universities brag with the number of doctorates and professors in their employment, forgetting that most of these highly-rated academics still go on sabbatical in private-owned schools because of sophisticated equipment and infrastructure.

    At academic and social competitions, private varsities are earning more honour and accolades, compared to public-owned schools. At the sixth International Humanitarian Law Moot Court competition recently held at Lagos State University (LASU), a private school, Benson Idahosa University in Benin emerged winner amidst stiff competition from nine public universities.

    In 2011, Benson Idahosa University also emerged second runner- up in the West Africa University games held at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State. Again, last week at the 25th NUGA, Benson Idahosa University, came third position with a total of 26 medals, defeating 55 state and federal school.

    At the just concluded maiden edition of Technology and Innovation Expo, Covenant University finished in third position in the tertiary institutions’ category, defeating 64 public-owned tertiary institutions at the event organised by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

    Many parents prefer to enroll their children in private schools because of incessant strike actions, unstable academic calendar, cult activities, low staff-students relationship, insecurity and corruption that have befallen many of these public universities. How can one sing the gospel of public universities when these are the agony faced by students? No doubt, there are a lot of nice angles to government-owned universities, but most are far-fetched.

    In private universities, students have comfortable environment to learn, because they believe that a favorable environment is very vital for assimilation of knowledge. These people tend to boast of more infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities for learning.

    In public school there is a daily struggle for conducive environment to learn. There you see overcrowded and unventilated classrooms. Students are made to stand for several hours during lectures. How can one learn or think in such unfriendly environment, with so much noise and disorderliness? Not forgetting, that one of the major functions of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.

    Another phenomenon that is enjoyed in private institution is the excellent student-lecturer relationship. In a university setting, there is a great diversity in terms of socio-cultural, political, religious and racial backgrounds among students and lecturers. A healthy relationship between lecturers and students does influence students’ academic, personal and social integration into higher education. In private universities, there is a tight bond between the students and lecturers leading to an increase in academic productivity

  • SSANU set for showdown with varsities over sacked colleagues

    SSANU set for showdown with varsities over sacked colleagues

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)  is set for a battle with universities that sacked their members at the staff schools because of the de-harmonisation policy.

    Armed with a favourable judgment from the National Industrial Court (NIC), the union said it was battle-ready to restore its members.

    But  it would spare universities that refused to send SSANU members away during the crisis, it said.

    The union’s National President Comrade Samson Ugwoke spoke  during SSANU, 57th quarterly zonal meeting (Western Zone) at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo.

    It will be recalled that SSANU took the sacking of its members at the staff schools to NIC, describing it as a breach of the SSANU-Federal Government 2009 Agreement. The universities-deharmonised SSANU workers, even when the matter was at the NIC, stood their ground, and insisted that the decision was a prerogative of the Governing Council as Federal Government had no hand in it. The union eventually obtained judgment in its favour in December.

    Ugwoke said SSANU was warning the affected universities to recall their sacked colleagues immediately, or risk its wrath.

    Ugwoke said: “The issue is very clear, for those (universities) that do not owe our members, they have done the right thing. But for those who disengaged our members, they must implement the judgment. The judgment is already out and we are awaiting the interpretation from the Office of the Attorney-General.

    He continued: “Already, the Federal Government has set up a multi- ministerial committee from the Ministry of Finance, Budget Office, National Universities Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, as well as Salaries and Wages Commission to look into the implementation. So, whenever the final report comes, we are looking forward to recalling our members, paying their salary arrears, promoting them and paying their promotion arrears.

    “For those universities who listened and obeyed the law by the National Industrial Court, they will have no problem with us, Federal Government knows them.

    “The judgment took place on December 5, last year, and it stated that as far as the (2009) agreement is concerned, wherever you see Governing Council, it implies the Federal Government since government is the proprietor of the universities. So, whether you say ‘Council shall …” or the “University shall …” you are referring to government.”

    Ugwoke was confronted on why SSANU had been at the vanguard of whistle blowing as exemplified in the case of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Federal University of Technology, Akure and Lagos State University. But he denied the allegation.

    “Let me correct you by saying SSANU is not a whistle-blowing union, “Ugwoke explained.

    He continued: “Ahead of the whiste-blowing policy, we have always called our management to order.  As it is our tradition, we usually write to the VC when we observe inadequacies and ask him to correct them. We do this because our members are at the centre of administration. But when the money siphoned is colossal and at the detriment of workers and the university, then the next petition will go to the Federal Government.

    “Also note that before these petitions get to the government, the university in question must have ignored our petition or dared us as in ‘what can you do’.  SSANU members are not interested in getting a percentage of the funds in line with whistle-blowing policy. We only want to correct the system. We are not always happy seeing money meant for the university system being siphoned illegally.’’

  • Workers’ Day: Varsities’ facilities still very poor, says ASUU

    Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has lamented the poor condition of facilities prevailing in public universities nationwide.

    Chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of the union Dr Deji Omole, said there is nothing to celebrate going by the deplorable conditions of laboratories and the suffering of lecturers in public universities .

    The union enjoined the Federal Government to, in the spirit of Workers’ Day celebration, address the shortfall of personnel cost and other obligations in the nation’s public universities.

    In a statement issued in Ibadan on Tuesday, the union noted that the present administration has been economical with the truth in meeting the agreements it signed with the union in 2009 and 2013 Memorandum of Understanding. The union lamented that their colleagues are enduring the worst of welfare and lacks attention.

    According to Omole, while the student-lecturer ratio keeps increasing in the face of poor laboratories tools, lecturers are still expected to teach students with those obsolete facilities, and through that, produce globally competitive graduates.

    He lamented that most university lecturers now face hard times due to fractional payment of salaries and, unpaid earned academic allowances (EAA).

    He said Nigeria may suffer another brain drain as conditions of service for Nigerian academics are poor even when placed in the context of other universities in Africa.

    He lamented that Nigeria has continued to lose her best brains to universities outside who offer better conditions of service and welfare.

    The ASUU boss said if the welfare of those in service is addressed, it will check corruption and primitive wealth accumulation.

  • ‘Varsities, steel sector should collaborate’

    A professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Joseph Olatunde Borode, has called on the Federal Government and stakeholders in the sector to intensify efforts at promoting collaborations between universities and the Industrial sector.

    According to him, lack of synergy between universities and local industries is partly responsible for the downturn in the nation’s economy.

    Borode spoke on ‘’Materials: Sine qua non for national development’’ at the Federal University of Technology Akure’s (FUTA) 84th inaugural lecture.

    He decried lack of adequate funding for research and development, lamenting that this had seriously affected the growth of industries in Nigeria greatly.

    Borode stressed that universities were set up to undertake research in addition to teaching and community service.

    Borode said most industries in Nigeria are import-dependent for raw materials which, according to him, could easily be sourced locally through research highlighted iron and steel.

    He cited iron and steel as a major part of all sectors, especially the automotive, building, architecture, health, transport, energy production, water supply, construction, surveillance, defense and weapon fabrication industries.

    He said the capacity of steel production had a significant bearing on a nation’s economic and technological development.

    By estimate of the National Minerals and Metals Policy, the annual per capita consumption of steel in Nigeria is 10kg , Borode said, noting that the corresponding world average is 130kg.

    “In apparent steel consumption, Nigeria is lagging behind when compared with African countries like Algeria with 42kg/capita, Egypt with 36kg/capita and Zimbabwe with 25kg/capita he said.

    Citing the UNDP report of 2001, Borode disclosed that Nigeria is the 13th poorest nation in the world with very low human development index despite her enormous and abundant human and material resources. He  urged government to invest further in the consumption of iron and steel among other materials, whilst strictly maintaining its supervisory and regulatory function.

    The Vice-Chancellor Prof Adebiyi Daramola, described Borode as a researcher who had contributed greatly to research and development geared towards national development.

  • Green bonds: nine varsities to get clean energy

    The Federal Government is to power nine universities with solar energy,  the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, has said.

    He said this was in line with government’s efforts to ensure a clean and healthy environment through the issuance of sovereign green bonds. He made the submission last week when he paid a working visit to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Solar Energy Limited (NSEL) Plant, located in Karshi, Abuja.

    Jibril described the decision to power the tertiary institutions with solar energy as a laudable development, which according to him, is in line with the nation’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) that aims at reducing carbon emissions in line with global best practices.

    The Minister said his visit to the solar energy plant was to identify with as well as offer the ministry’s support to the local manufacturing company in the production of solar panel. He ýstressed that renewable energy is a critical focus of the soon-to-be-launched green bond project.

    He further maintained that solar energy would encourage the use of local content which will in turn help the country to save foreign exchange as well as create employment for the teeming youths.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI Solar Energy Limited, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, noted that the plant was the first Solar PV Module/Solar Panel manufacturing company in Nigeria. He also disclosed that the plant has a 7.5 megawatts (MW) capacity and can produce all sizes and capacities of Solar PV module.

  • Green bonds: nine varsities to get clean energy

    The Federal Government is to power nine universities with solar energy,  the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, has said.

    He said thisis in line with government’s efforts to ensure a clean and healthy environment through the issuance of sovereign green bonds. He made the submission last week when he paid a working visit to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Solar Energy Limited (NSEL) Plant, located in Karshi, Abuja.

    Jibril described the decision to power the tertiary institutions with solar energy as a laudable development, which according to him, is in line with the nation’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) that aims at reducing carbon emissions in line with global best practices.

    The Minister said his visit to the solar energy plant was to identify with as well as offer the ministry’s support to the local manufacturing company in the production of solar panel. He ýstressed that renewable energy is a critical focus of the soon-to-be-launched green bond project.

    He further maintained that solar energy would encourage the use of local content which will in turn help the country to save foreign exchange as well as create employment for the teeming youths.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI Solar Energy Limited, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, noted that the plant was the first Solar PV Module/Solar Panel manufacturing company in Nigeria. He also disclosed that the plant has a 7.5 megawatts (MW) capacity and can produce all sizes and capacities of Solar PV module.

  • UI VC: underfunding’ll cripple varsities

    University of Ibadan Vice Chancellor Prof Idowu Olayinka has decried the massive underfunding of the university by the Federal Government.

    The VC asked the National Assembly to allocate special funding to the university to sustain its growing global ranking and not plunge it into unnecessary industrial crisis.

    He noted that with such massive underfunding, the university is becoming very difficult to run.

    Olayinka spoke at the fourth National Public Service Lecture organised by the Alumni Association.

    Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Prof Emilolorun Aiyelari, the VC said the university had not received anything this year, lamenting that it has to accommodate about 8000 students.

    Olayinka said workers had not got full salaries in the last one year, noting that unpaid salaries could influence commitment to work.

    The VC said the university spent close to N40million on electricity.

    “This is the problem we have. Our tasks are teaching, research and community service and not pursuing internally generated revenue.”

  • Varsities to support ECOWAS to implement agric policy

    Enhancing Capacities on International Agriculture Agreements for Development of Regional Agriculture and Food Markets (ECIATA), a regional project collaboration between agriculture universities in the subregion,  has pledged to support Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) member-nations to promote policies  that will boost food security.

    The main objective of the project is to strengthen the academic capacities of partner institutions on international trade agreements, which would enable them to enhance the institutional capacities of government ministries, agencies, regional bodies, farmers organisations, civil society and other relevant bodies on trade-related agriculture negotiations, agreements and policy implementation in support of regional agriculture and development of food markets.

    The universities include the College of Agriculture Education of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia; Njala University, Sierra Leone, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, and University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

    According to ECIATA,  West Africa region has major potential in terms of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, but  was facing  food security problems because of  challenges occasioned by  differing climate conditions, sub-regional disparities and local production deficits, a lack of market fluidity and little competition within production sectors.

    The group noted  that the  link between food security and the availability of foodstuffs requires that different sectorial policies have to work together to enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture sector and develop the regional food markets. Stepping up food security requires improving the competitiveness of the sector to improve production.

  • JAMB directs varsities to stick to core mandate

    JAMB directs varsities to stick to core mandate

    The Federal Government has directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to delete specialised courses or programmes being offered by universities of technologies and universities of agriculture from its portal.

    It directed the specialised universities to stick to their core mandates, which they were set up to carry and desist from running programmes, which had no bearing on their responsibilities.

    Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu gave the directive in a statement  yesterday in Abuja by JAMB’s Head of Information Dr. Fabian Benjamin.

    The government, which stated that it observed that some of these universities of agriculture and technology had derailed from their responsibilities by running the programmes they were not created for, warned candidates billed to seat for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) not to be deceived into choosing such programmes as they were illegal and are not provided for in the brochure.

    The statement reads: “Government notes the unfortunate situation where Universities of Agriculture offer programmes in law, management courses such as accounting, banking and finance, business administration among others. As if that was not enough, some institutions change the nomenclature of some of the courses to read for instance banking engineering, accounting technology, among other names. This is an aberration and should be stopped with immediate effect.

    “Specialised universities are universities set up to pursue specific courses/ programmes to steer the need of manpower in a particular sector of the economy. Some of these specialised institutions include universities such as Universities of Agriculture, Universities of Technologies, Universities of Medicine, among others. The Federal Government has observed that these institutions have derailed from their statutory responsibility, thereby running programmes that are antithetical to their mandates.

    “In view of this ugly development, the Minister of Education has directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to delete all such courses on its portal and all candidates desirous of sitting for the 2017 Universities Tertiary Matriculations Examination are advised not to be hoodwinked into such programmes as they are illegal and are not provided for in our brochure.”

    JAMB said it has not started the sale of 2017 UTME forms as it was being alleged.

    The board, which urged candidates to exercise patience, said the delay in selling the form was due to its desire to reduce the challenges associated with the conduct of the examination.

    “Again, the board will want to state that it has not commenced the sales of the 2017 UTME application documents. Candidates are urged to exercise patience as JAMB is putting final preparations towards commencing the sales.”