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By Gabriel Dike, Lagos
The federal government has revealed that some lecturers in the Nigerian University System (NUS) are parading the universities with fake academic credentials.
The government also decried the erosion of academic standards and non-compliance with extant rules and regulations governing the university system.
The federal government stated this at the investiture ceremony of the 13th vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, which was witnessed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe and founder of Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr Fola Adeola.
Speaking at the investiture ceremony, the Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr Chris Maiyaki, who represented the Visitor to UNILAG, said the process of performance evaluation has left much to be desired in our universities.
“There is a gradual erosion of order in assessments and promotions at all levels. The intellectual space has shrunken to the extent that there is a subversion of the age-long and most cherished tradition and prestige of the academia,” he stated.
“It is no longer news that some among the professorate have questionable credentials. You must out of necessity, ensure that the reward system is based on hard work and academic credibility/influence, and not solely on belongingness to trite formations designed to gain prebendal footholds.”
The government further observed that leadership capacities have drifted in the direction of the ability to dominate university politics and mobilise ethnoreligious sentiments.
On the issues of funding and resource mobilisation, Maiyaki said the fundamental error is often to think that money is the problem always and that all problems are solvable with more money in the system.
“Truth must be told that although there is a recognition that funding is a problem, the dynamics axes of academic freedom, creativity and innovation have shrunken so much in the universities to the extent that they have diminished and compromised their capacities to meet their obligations to the nation, communities and students alike,” he said.
He said Prof Folasade Ogunsola has joined the league of female vice-chancellors in the NUS, having emerged as the first female VC of UNILAG, 60 years after its establishment.
He stated that NUC would encourage female participation and women empowerment in university affairs.
In his speech, the Pro-Chancellor and chairman Governing Council of UNILAG, Dr Olanrewaju Tejuoso, said the council made a good selection and acknowledged that many qualified candidates applied for the VC job.
Tejuoso said Prof Ogunsola’s investiture is an indication that UNILAG is set to move to the next level and would witness growth in academic development.
