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• Decries monetisation of academic failure
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
A historian, revolutionary and musician, Dr Temitope-Maberu Fagunwa, has criticised the management of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) over its introduction of a paid “Summer Programme”, describing it as an attempt to monetise students’ academic difficulties.
Fagunwa, in a statement made available to our correspondent at the weekend, also accused higher education authorities of blaming students for academic shortcomings while failing to address what he described as poor learning and examination conditions.
He described the programme as an unethical revenue-generating initiative presented as remedial education, arguing that genuine remediation should address the root causes of academic failure rather than impose additional financial burdens on students.
“The programme commodifies students’ academic difficulties into a source of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), effectively making failure financially lucrative.
“While the administration presents it as a generous gesture to help students clear failed courses, the lack of any pedagogical foundation makes it akin to intellectual extortion,” Fagunwa said.
He also criticised the use of the term “Summer Programme”, describing it as an inappropriate adoption of Western academic terminology that, according to him, fails to reflect Nigeria’s climatic and institutional realities.
“In the Global North, summer programmes offer specialised study, professional development, or academic enrichment. They are not designed to auction regular semester courses at N50,000 each, nor do they compress standard curriculum content into a rushed two-week cycle,” he said.
Fagunwa said the issues under the administration of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Odunayo Clement Adebooye, prompted his intervention.
He argued that genuine academic remediation required alternative teaching methods, adequate instructional support and an examination of the factors responsible for students’ failures.
The historian also criticised the vice-chancellor’s response to his earlier comments, describing it as an “anti-intellectual reaction” which, he alleged, reflected a wider crisis in university governance.
According to him, administrative and financial considerations should not override academic standards and intellectual autonomy.
“A university is not a corporation whose success is measured by extracted revenue; its core purpose is the production, preservation, and transmission of knowledge,” he said.
Fagunwa linked the development to what he described as inadequate government funding of public universities and pressure on institutions to generate revenue.
“State governments withdraw funding and then instruct administrators to extract money from students to cover the shortfall. This creates a predatory system where management collects revenue with impunity to justify administrative necessity,” he alleged.
He also referred to the reported decision of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on August 31, 2026, to extend Adebooye’s tenure by two years, moving the vice-chancellor’s exit date from January 2027 to January 2029.
Fagunwa argued that the extension contravened the 2006 Osun State University Establishment Law, which he said provided for a single, non-renewable five-year tenure.
He further cited the 2025 Osun State Approved Budget, which projected N6.375 billion in IGR from UNIOSUN, compared with N1.183 billion directly appropriated to the university.
“UNIOSUN has been repositioned as a revenue-generating tool rather than a publicly funded institution of higher learning.
“The illegalities and administrative extensions at UNIOSUN must be resisted. Progressive societies depend on institutions outlasting individuals, and academic culture must not be sacrificed for political convenience,” Fagunwa said.
