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Obasanjo lists ills of Nigerian
varsities
ERAMUS ALAMENE,
Abuja
PRESIDENT
Olusegun Obasanjo has identified ill-structured curriculum, inadequate and
inappropriate staffing, cultism and low academic standard among students, as
some of the challenges facing Nigerian universities.
President Obasanjo stated these during the
opening of a two-day workshop organized by the Conference of Alumni Association
of Nigerian Universities (CAANU) in Abuja.
He said that while student populations are
increasing, the type and quality of training being offered has failed to make
university graduates sufficiently capable of creating employment for themselves.
The president, who was represented on the
occasion by the Education Minister, Prof. Fabian Osuji, said that the future of
the country depends on how prepared the youths are to take over positions of
leadership and responsibility, adding that his administration would never get
tired of discussing university education.
Pointing out that the time to evolve
practical solutions to the problems of funding has arrived, the president said
that presently, universities in Nigeria depend almost exclusively on subventions
from government, adding that "the total dependence on the government for funding
university education is not sustainable".
He therefore advocated for fundamental
reforms in the funding of university education in the country. He said that
though education is a state-led activity, it must become a private sector driven
enterprise for it to thrive in today�s world.
According to him, achieving any positive
development in the system calls for sacrifice from all stakeholders with
education subjecting itself, structure and curricula to the "dynamics of private
enterprise; competitiveness, transparency, accountability and a fair wage for an
honest day�s work".
Obasanjo stated that serious consideration
is being given to industry�s partnership in university education just as
government is giving the same to local content in manufacturing.
"We expect you to rise from your
deliberations armed with, among other things, a blue-print for making this
university/government/private sector partnership a reality," he charged the
participants at the workshop.
Earlier in his speech, the chairman of
CAANU, Dr. Okey Ewurum, had stated that the workshop was to seek an answer to
the most controversial question on whether "it is practicable or even desirable
that government continue to fund education alone".
According to him, private sector remains
the only key for proper funding of university education, adding that "when the
private sector recoils from funding education, it is only being unrealistic and
fraudulent because, it is only trying to reap where it did not sow".
He stated that it is a universally
accepted fact that quality of education is entirely dependent on the quality of
staff, curricula, students, infrastructure and the environment.
He assured that "the workshop would make
tough choices based on balance and fairness," adding that "we must stop, once
and for all, talking about government under-funding of universities."
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