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VCs raises alarm over poor investment on Education
By Abdullahi Olesin
Vice- Chancellors of Nigerian universities yesterday declared that poor investment in education is tantamount to sentencing the country to a bleak future.
The VCs under the aegis of Association of Vice- Chancellors of Nigerian universities ( AVCNU) made the declaration at the opening of their 32nd conference in Malete.
The AVCNU’ s four- day conference is being hosted by the Kwara State University, Malete.
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The association added that poor investment in education will leave Nigerian children and the economy weak and unprotected.
The Chairman of AVCNU, Prof. Debo Adeyewa spike on behalf of his colleagues.
Adeyewa, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Redeemer’s University,
Ede, Osun state, therefore,urged governments at all levels to fund
education adequately.
He said “it is imperative to state the fact that without adequate
investment in education, Nigeria cannot compete favorably in the
marketplace of the knowledge economy the 21st century and that there is no poverty alleviation without significant improvement in
educational standard through a deliberate and momentus increase in the funding of education.”
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He charged university leaders responsible for the provision of
qualitative higher education to come up with solutions that the
problems of paucity of finance, deficit of knowledge infrastructure,
governance, policy inconsistency and other solutions relevant to the
needs of society.
“We need to address the nagging questions to ensure the provision of functional and quality education required for national development in the 21st century through our universities.”
Adeyewa added that “we have formidable challenges confronting
our universities and our dear nation.”
“The employ-ability of our graduates, entrepreneurship, quality assurance, relevance to sustainable development, climate
change, leveraging on ICT and open education resources and
international collaboration in the Nigerian university system are some of the challenges confronting the universities”.
Declaring the conference open, the Kwara state governor, Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed tasked the university vice chancellors to promote real research instead of the book review that is prevalent over the years.
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Represented by the state Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Governor Ahmed said that “it is only through pragmatic approach that we can guarantee sustainable growth in our country. Unless and until we graduate students as job creators, our saturated market of unemployable youths can at best remain time bombs that would do us no good.”
Earlier, Vice Chancellor of KWASU, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah urged university administrators to collaborate with government to stop incessant strike actions by lecturers.
Prof Na’Allah added that said most university lecturers don’t treat
their students like clients, saying the unfriendly treatment would not allow the students to give back to their alumni after their
graduation.
“If we are determined have 21st century universities, we have to
ensure that our universities are theaters of research. There cannot be development without universities. Nigerian universities have no other cause but to change the fortune of Nigeria.
“This nation is spending heavily on university education, yet we don’t have anything to show for it,” the vice chancellor added.
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