Recent deliberations by stakeholders in the education sector offer a bright hope that our ailing universities – if the findings from the brain-storming session are well harnessed and put into use – could be inching to the desired word-class status.
This opportunity, which I feel is worth sharing, beckoned at the just-concluded national retreat, jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission for the newly-inaugurated governing councils of Nigerian federal universities, held recently at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
The main thrust of the two-day programme was to equip participants with the requisite principles of university governance with a view to making the new council members responsive to the expectations of government and critical stakeholders in implementing public policies.
Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Julius Okojie said the retreat was carefully packaged for the Council members – as employers of labour, who are armed with enormous wealth of experience – to enable them discharge their duties effectively in moving our ivory towers forward.
“It is obvious that the Nigerian university system has a number of challenges that are begging for solution. The retreat will provide opportunity for participants to rub minds on these issues for the purpose of finding lasting solutions to them,” he stated.
Delivering the keynote address, Education Minister, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i said that with the increase in the number of universities, more challenges had ensued that managers of our tertiary institutions should be adequately positioned to tackle.
She advised registrars to be up and doing without appearing as usurping the powers of the council as well as the vice-chancellor who is the chief executive officer of the university, as she also warned those in authority to shun corruption.
The Minister charged the various institutions to implement the White Paper reports of the visitation panels to the universities.
“The preponderant scenario in most Nigerian universities today is that rather than a solemn academic affair, convocation ceremonies have been turned into rowdy funfairs and sometimes political rallies as a result of honorary degree awards,” she added.
The chairman of the occasion and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, represented by the Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) in his office, Dr. Jamila Shua’ra, decried the incessant crises ravaging our universities and advised council members not to dabble into the day-to-day management of institutions.
“I strongly advise that the governing councils should not interfere with the day-to-day running of the universities, but focus on policy issues, adopting best practices, monitoring institutional projects and sourcing for funds outside the usual government subventions to improve facilities and infrastructure that would promote teaching, learning and research in the institutions,” he warned.
The Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman, equally advised Nigerian universities to strive to take a lead among comity of higher institutions of learning by focusing on research and development.
The first paper, entitled “Overview of the Nigerian University System”, was presented by the NUC Executive Secretary, who was represented by Dr. Abiodun Saliu.
According to the NUC boss, presently, the nation has a total of 128 universities – federal (40), state (38) and private (50) that are faced with the challenges of access, relevance, governance, equity, quality and funding.
He said since the NUC was established in 1962, it had ensured that there was an orderly development of university education in the country.
The Pro-Chancellor of the Fountain University, Osogbo and pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Professor Nurudeen Adedipe delivered a paper entitled, “The Nigerian University System: Community Relationship Convergence in Divergence”.
Professor Adedipe charged each university to prioritize its academic programmes such that it would claim the status of “centre of excellence” in a chosen or narrow band of disciplines, as he also advised against making all Professors members of Senate, which he termed “all Professors Syndrome”.
He described the syndrome as a great impediment to attaining “a compact, more effective decision-making and operational cost reduction” initiative in the university system.
A former Registrar of the University of Ibadan, Chief (Mrs.) Moji Ladipo delved on the topic, “University Ceremonies” and observed that convocation and graduation ceremonies were important in the life of a university, but their solemnity and dignity should be preserved in line with best practice.
“By upholding the true dignity of our academic ceremonies and providing the leadership that adds value to them, councils would have confirmed our universities as places where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see; where seekers and learners alike, banded together in the search for knowledge, will honour thought in all its finer ways, will welcome thinkers in distress or in exile, will uphold ever, the dignity of thought and learning and will exact standards in these things,” she stated.
Critical issues that bordered on governance were tackled in the paper titled, “University Governance”, as presented by a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Nimi Briggs, in which he recommended that there should be a full knowledge of the operations of the university, promoting the policies of the proprietors, close monitoring of finances, obeying the tenets of due process, and appointing the right staff into vacant positions.
Others include enforcement of appropriate staff discipline, promoting and projecting good image for the institution as well as contributing to the development of the immediate host environment.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Emeka Eze, spoke on, “Critical Issues in Public Procurement” and gave detailed processes involved in procurement as provided by the Procurement Act 2007, stating that projects go through Nigeria Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, NEEDS, assessment before they are eventually approved to guarantee transparency and fairplay.
Mr. DEWALE KUPOLUYI wrote from Federal Varsity of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Source: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment