An Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr Sikiru Lanre Nurudeen, has called on the National Assembly to initiate a review of the Act establishing the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) for the inclusion of private universities on the list of the beneficiaries of the fund’s intervention.
He said the existing arrangement where academic staff in private varsities are allowed to pair with their counterparts in public universities to access grants for research purposes was insufficient.
In an interview with Journalists in Ilorin, Nurudeen, who is the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, observed that the intervention of TETFUND on infrastructure in public higher institutions of learning should be replicated in private varsities.
“We are making the appeal to the authorities concerned, especially the National Assembly, to look into how private universities can also benefit from the TETFund, in a more tangible form. Currently, I think the approach is that they say, lecturers in private universities can pair with those in the public universities to access research funds, but that is not enough.
“We are speaking of infrastructure. If you look at most public universities, federal and states, including polytechnics and colleges of education, their campuses are littered with projects funded by TETFund.
“Such can also be replicated in private universities so that they can also have the opportunity of benefiting from this fund, which is a national fund.
“The argument is that they assume that owners of private universities are very rich. But it is not always the case. To run a university is an expensive venture, just like you have said. The capital layout to start it, and the cost of running it effectively is so huge that without support, it may not be easy for the owners to be able to run them effectively and efficiently”, he said.
Nurudeen called on universities to encourage their students to be employers of labour, which will help in stemming the problem of unemployment amongst youths in the country.
He said, “I think that should be the objective of most universities, if not all universities. The NUC is helping us by introducing what is called CCMAS-Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards- Before now, we used to have what was called Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards(BMAS).
“The intention of CCMAS was to give the university the opportunity to also add 30% to the courses in each programme. Hitherto, the NUC used to provide 100 percent, but now we have been given the opportunity to introduce our own uniqueness into the programme.
“So, with that, we have taken the opportunity to introduce skill acquisition, entrepreneurship development and vocational studies into our curriculum. Our GNS programme has also been enriched to ensure that our students are given the right frame of mind to make them not seek jobs after graduation but rather to become employers of labour themselves. “
Speaking on the prevalence of social vices in tertiary institutions, the Don described cultism and substance abuse as a challenge for the country that requires the attention of the authority.
The former Dean of Student Affairs of Al-Hikmah University said the institution has worked tremendously in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to tackle the menace.
“I knew what we did in terms of preventing that menace from creeping into our university. We have a very good relationship with the NDLEA. They come regularly, especially during our orientation programmes for new students.
“We give them lectures. They also come during other occasions to also tell our students about the evils of drug abuse or drug addiction, and so on. But we thank God that within our university, that is not a major challenge.
“When new students are admitted, they are subjected to drug tests, and when they are found to be positive, they are sent back to their parents even if they had paid their school fees. So, we have zero tolerance for drug abuse, “Nurudeen affirmed.
On an appropriate governance structure in the country, the University’s Don advised the federal government to structure the nation’s governance architecture to suit her own peculiarities rather than wholly adopting the ‘unsuitable’ Western standard of democracy.
According to him, foreign imposed models of democracy have failed in Nigeria, and it is imperative and urgent for Nigeria to look toward having its own version.
Nurudeen said, “Every country should try to design and devise a system that is relevant, and that will serve their purpose. Look at Nigeria, we tried the British system from 1960 to 1966. It failed us, and without any effort at probing into why it failed, we embraced the American system, which hasn’t yielded any positive result either. That is why France has adopted a mixed system, which is a marriage of the American and the British systems.
“For us in Nigeria, I don’t think by now, we should be talking about emulating the American model or the British variant. We should be thinking of what is peculiarly relevant to Nigeria, given our background, given our peculiarities as a country.
“I’m not of the opinion that we should follow America and Britain. If you look at Britain now, Britain evolved from absolute monarchy to limited monarchy and the struggle was consummated with the Glorious Revolution. The parliament struggled with the monarchy. Now, we have what we called Parliamentary supremacy”, which is uniquely British. In a similar vien, the United States evolved from a confederal structure in 1776 until the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 settled for a federal system of government.
These are words on marble. Unambiguously stated, points well marshalled. The arguments are superior.
One strongly hopes that others in private Universities would blow this trumpet.
I salute your academic scholarship and rich potentials.
Everything he said is well said.
May God bless you more.
He is an hardworking man and he deserves a good life.