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• What institutions must do to stay afloat, says Qurix, ex-Bingham varsity VC
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Prof. William Qurix is the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State. In this interview on his last day in office, he spoke on what universities should do to stay afloat “as there’s an indication that the Federal Government may grant full autonomy to universities.
Mixed reactions trailed 2024 budget for the education sector. What’s your take?
The Federal Government is gradually going the way of full autonomy for the public universities. This means that the universities must begin to seek additional income generating avenues to sustain their operations.
Do you foresee a drop in funding soon as a result of that?
Yes. I imagine, though not authoritative, that whatever finances government will be giving to the public tertiary institutions will be more inadequate than before. This is part of the strategies for the full financial autonomy. This will probably force universities to explore revenue opportunities to stay afloat because they might soon enjoy full autonomy.
However, the case is different for the private universities, which are already autonomous. Private universities pool their funds together to pay salaries, running costs, research and other activities in the universities.
For instance, in 2023 being my last year as VC of Bingham University, the institution earned reasonable amount of money from research. With research grants, it’s possible to sustain the university. So, I expect my successor to look in that direction.
Do you absorb your best hands?
Yes, we do and it’s been going on for quite some time. The university has been absorbing its best hands wishing to stay within the university system.
What were the challenges you encountered in your six years as VC?
The major challenge we had was funding. I took over the affairs of the university when there was huge debt on ground for the university. The debt was about N13 billion (N3 billion interest inclusive). But to the Glory of God, we have paid N10 million. That was the major challenge that we had then.
We also had the fear of security challenges at some point, and people, including parents and our partners were worried for us. But we were able to surmount them and we are getting on well. We also have infrastructural challenges but we are dealing with that as the need arises.
What advantages does your successor have?
My successor is taking over a university that enjoys peace and stability, as against crisis situation that I inherited six years ago. He is in a better place to sustain the peace and deliver. All he needs to do is to calm down and channel available resources to legacy projects and engagements that would guarantee improved results for the school. If that is done, then the school will continue on a good trajectory.
What feedback do you get from parents, academically and otherwise?
Parents are key stakeholders in the school. We have a strong and transparent feedback channels to enable quality and good communication. Parents are absolutely satisfied and happy with what we are doing. They call us whenever they have complaints and they respond to them well. We have maintained open door policy and communicate effectively with parents and they are happy with that.
Your tenure as VC ended recently, how was the journey?
It was a successful and fruitful journey for myself and the University community. As you may know, Bingham University is a faith-based institution. So, I can tell you that God is the secret behind the successes recorded in past few years. He provided wisdom, knowledge and enablement. If you check some of the things we did, you will realize that it is God at work. We didn’t have the resources needed but we were able to deliver the much we could within the available limited resources. So I can confirm that God did it.
Talking about your successor, what transition plans did you make for him?
There was a clear plan for him to kick off in strong note. For instance, every unit and department documented its activities over the years, and this includes, how they met the department, what they have achieved and outstanding issues. The experience was compiled into a compendium called “handover note”. This will, expectedly, provide proper guide for the new VC to continue from where we stopped.
I have confidence in his ability and capacity to move the university forward.
What level of freedom or otherwise did you enjoy from the higher authorities?
This was another factor that helped us to achieve success. I can confirm to you that there was no interference from the higher authorities, notably, Board of Trustees and Governing Council, regarding the day-to-day running of the university. As a vice chancellor, you might have your own challenges and what you might want to do to make the institution better, but with interference from the higher authorities, your independence is limited and that could be reflected in the result. But in my own case, there was little or no interference from the higher authorities. It became very easy for me to chart my own course to make the university better.
