Education
UNICAL VC calls for end to impunity, says women leaders will drive growth
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Professor Florence Obi, has urged for a radical change to the culture of impunity in Nigeria, emphasising that competence and merit should be prioritised over systemic anomalies.
Speaking at the maiden Conference of the Association of Female Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Obi stressed that women’s leadership potential should not be judged by a few failures, but rather by the many who possess the capacity and merit to deliver quality service.
Obi argued that women are natural leaders and effective managers of resources, and that their participation in positions of authority would lead to Nigeria’s growth and development.
She called for a shift away from impunity and towards a culture that allows women to excel without encumbrances.
The conference, themed “Female Leadership in Higher Education Governance: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges,” aimed to empower women in leadership positions and promote gender equality in education.
According to the VC, “By coming together to inaugurate the Association of Female Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AFVCNU), we have collectively accepted the responsibility that history has placed on us as leaders of the highest citadels of learning.
“I know our peculiar political landscape which does not give a premium to ideas from intellectuals. But I am extremely confident that our depth of ideas and vision, resoluteness, and commitment can create a new atmosphere for great things to happen not only in our campuses but also in other areas.
“In the course of the last three and half years as Vice-Chancellor, my efforts in this direction have largely been successful and impactful in the system, characterised by courage and doggedness.
“The culture of impunity that has become rooted in our clime deserves radical and courageous measures, no matter whose ox is gored.
“In my university, in furtherance of the culture of academic excellence, my administration instituted the Vice-Chancellor Scholarship for the best students with CGPA above 4.00 on the scale of & across the 110 departments
“Gender sensitisation is very active on our campus and female students are deliberately encouraged to speak against molestation and sexual harassment. Though sometimes such outspokenness attracts negative publicity to the University, I know it testifies to the success of our efforts,” she said.
Speaking further, she explained that allowing more women to come into positions of authority will be the right step in the right direction for the country to move forward.
According to her, “I’m not referring to women that lack capacity, but those who merited the opportunity but discriminated against because of their gender.”
She maintained that the conference is a veritable platform for them to mentor young women in education governance and also encourage them to aspire to any position they desire in academics, politics and other spheres.
“Higher education governance has been in the hands of men since the days of University College, Ibadan, and as at today only about 40 women have been given the opportunity to lead institutions of learning, since the inception of university education in Nigeria.
“From inception, we have had close to 500 or more men head such institutions. So, now that for the first time we are having 24 women serving as vice chancellors, we taught it wise to mentor other women to aspire for greatness,” she said.
By Sodiq Adelakun
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their differences and prevent a strike that could disrupt the academic calendar.
NANS Senate President, Henry Okunomo, made the plea on Sunday in Akure, urging the federal government to take immediate action to address the issues leading to the potential strike.
Okunomo emphasised the importance of finding common ground to avoid another disruption in the educational sector, which would negatively impact students.
He stressed that students have suffered enough from previous strikes and urged both parties to prioritise their interests.
The appeal comes as ASUU has threatened to embark on a strike over the federal government’s failure to meet its demands, including improved funding and working conditions.
“We are counting on the government to act decisively and with a sense of urgency to prevent the devastating impact of another strike,” said Mr Okunomo.
“We appeal to our lecturers to also embrace dialogue and shift ground where necessary to avoid collapse of the education system,” he added.
ASUU had issued a three-week ultimatum to the federal government over some outstanding demands.
Mr Okunomo urged President Bola Tinubu to allocate sufficient resources to the educational sector to improve infrastructure, provide necessary teaching aids, and ensure timely payment of salaries and benefits to lecturers.
He said establishing a continuous platform for dialogue between the government, university administrators and lecturers to address grievances before escalation was important to prevent academic disruption.
“We are all acutely aware of the recurring disruptions caused by strikes in our universities.
“These strikes, often due to unresolved issues between university lecturers and the government, have profound and far-reaching consequences on the educational journey of countless students.
“We, the students, are the primary stakeholders in this situation. Our voices, hopes, and futures hang in the balance,” said Mr Okunomo.
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the federal and state governments for prioritising political interests over the funding and development of public universities.
Speaking at a press conference in Damaturu, Yobe State, ASUU Chairperson, Melemi Abatcha, accused governments of treating university education as a political tool, establishing new institutions without adequate funding for existing ones.
Abatcha expressed concerns over the proliferation of public universities, stating that it has become a constituency project for politicians, rather than a priority for quality education.
He highlighted the challenges faced by academic staff, including insufficient funding, and lamented the neglect of existing universities.
“The federal government has not fulfilled its promises from 2023, including the allocation of N50 billion for the payment of the backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and the integration of EAA into salaries from January 2022,” he claimed.
Abatcha further stated that, despite lecturers covering their workloads during forced strikes, salaries remain withheld.
“Even with the directive of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the removal of ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform since December 2023, ASUU members are still being paid via the obnoxious platform (IPPIS).
“The removal of the fuel subsidy without viable alternatives has inflicted significant hardship on the populace, and we are eager to avoid exacerbating this situation with another disruption to academic activities,” he stated.
“Furthermore, we urge the government to demonstrate empathy for the struggles of Nigerians by promptly agreeing to and implementing a fair and reasonable living wage for Nigerian workers.”
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will hold a policy meeting on Friday, July 18, 2024, to determine the minimum cut-off marks for the 2024/2025 admission cycle into tertiary institutions in the country.
The meeting will also set admission guidelines for colleges of education, polytechnics, and universities.
According to JAMB’s weekly bulletin released on Monday by the Board’s Spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the policy meeting will be chaired by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and will have in attendance stakeholders such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Heads of tertiary institutions, and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.
The meeting is expected to set the tone for the 2024/2025 admission exercise into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions..
The statement noted that; “During the exercise, the Registrar will present reports on the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the ongoing Direct Entry (DE) applications while also analysing key performance indicators that could shape the policy directions of the government.
“Also, the meeting would apprise stakeholders of the salient issues that cropped up in the course of the previous year’s admission exercise. In addition, the policy meeting would look at the performance of candidates in the current year’s UTME in order to determine the year’s minimum admissible score.
“It would be recalled that stakeholders had in the previous year agreed on the minimum admission requirement for admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
“Furthermore, the meeting would determine the year’s admission requirements while kick-starting the admission process for the current year; discuss unresolved issues emanating from the previous academic year; and, at the same time, appraise the compliance of stakeholders with extant advisories and suggest further amendments where necessary.”
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