Fate Of Nigeria’s Higher Education: The Role Of Unions And Government (II)

First, governments at all levels must ensure that heads of the institutions in question, to include vice-chancellor, rector, and provost for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, respectively, are strictly appointed via merit instead of mere favouritism which is usually the case. Astute administrators, or individuals of note, ought to be appointed to serve in such capacities rather than engaging a mere benchwarmer.
Sometimes, the poor state of these schools is partly attributed to the kind of person piloting their affairs. In most cases you would observe that a vice-chancellor, for instance, would spend several years on seat, but end up not implementing any consequential project throughout his/her five-year tenure.

This aspect of misappropriation of funds is, for quite some time now, being harboured as a culture in most existing higher citadels of learning across the federation.

Similarly, the concerned quarters must ensure that only qualified individuals are employed as lecturers; engaging unqualified teachers in the institutions have succeeded in causing untold harm to the future of the teeming students, particularly the undergraduates.

The wages of the lecturers must also be taken as priority by the governments and other concerned bodies, and those in privately-owned institutions should equally be treated as such.

Universities, being research-oriented institutions, cannot thrive under the ongoing Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime of the present administration in Nigeria. The education sector – especially higher institutions – deserves unalloyed financial autonomy, thus they ought to be exempted from such mechanism.

Since the initiative is targeted to curb corruption, the government can set up a formidable and reliable agency that would continually monitor how the schools are faring. If anyone is found culpable in the process, he/she ought to be brought to book without much ado.

It’s very pathetic and an eyesore that our universities are yet to commercialize their patents in an era where the society is expected to mainly depend on higher institutions as regards research works, tech-driven innovations and development.

The fact is, adequate funding of higher education, which has been taken aback for decades now, is the only way the government can make the affected institutions compete globally. There are absolutely no two ways about it.

Though the ongoing Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) scheme is trying, a lot still needs to be done. Most times these funds are utilized on laboratory equipment that cannot be calibrated, or library materials such as books that are outdated, thereby making them serve as mere monuments or decorative materials as long as they last in the various benefiting institutions.

Taking into cognizance that funding shouldn’t be left for the government alone, the head of these institutions must be prepared to reach out to the relevant bodies in a bid for collaboration and endowment initiatives. This is why a well cerebral and smart individual is meant to be appointed to pilot the affairs of the citadels in question.

The Labour unions such as ASUU and NAAT, among others, on their part must endeavour to run an independent unionism at all times, rather than barely indulging in tokenism. The handwriting should invariably be clearly written on the wall for the concerned government regardless of the circumstance. Hence, they mustn’t spare the rot and spoil the child.

They ought to acknowledge that any foul play they engage in is to the detriment of their students’ future, and that of Nigeria at large. If you have a cause you are fighting for, concentrate on how to drive to the end instead of succumbing to baseless and unfounded threats in the long run.

This recessionary era is obviously the ripe time to get the funding of the Nigeria’s higher education right, because any procrastination would surely be at the expense of the anticipated economic turnaround.