The
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim,
has warned members of governing councils of public universities against
interference with the day-to-day administration of the institutions.
Anyim’s warning was contained in a
statement issued after a national retreat jointly organised by the
Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission
for the newly-inaugurated governing councils of Nigerian universities.
“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 said.
The SGF, who was represented by the
Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) in his office, Dr. Jamila Shua’ra,
also decried the incessant crises ravaging public universities in the
country.
The thrust of the two-day programme was
to equip participants with the requisite principles of governing
universities, with a view to making the new council members responsive
to the expectations of government and stakeholders in implementing
public policies.
Also, Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof.
Julius Okojie, said the retreat was put together for the council
members, who she described as employers of labour to enable them to
discharge their duties effectively in moving the institutions forward.
Delivering the keynote address,
Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, said that with the increase
in the number of universities, more challenges had ensued which managers
of tertiary institutions should be adequately equipped to tackle.
She also charged the various institutions to implement the White Paper reports of the visitation panels to the universities.
The Chairman, House of Representatives’
Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman, also advised Nigerian
universities to strive to take a lead among comity of higher
institutions of learning by focusing on research and development.
In his paper titled Overview of the Nigerian University System,
Okojie who was represented by Dr. Abiodun Saliu, said the nation’s
universities were 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.
Also, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor,
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Nurudeen
Adedipe, in a paper with the theme, The Nigerian University System: Community Relationship Convergence in Divergence,
charged each university to prioritise its academic programmes such that
it would claim the status of “centre of excellence” in a chosen or
narrow band of disciplines.
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