Lecturers’ New Pay to Gulp Extra N20bn

The current wage bill of a total of 108,336 academic and non-academic staff of federal tertiary institutions in the country is N105,759,117,709 per annum.
Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, who disclosed this in Abuja yesterday gave the breakdown as follows: universities, with a staff population of 74,652 have a total bill of N70,238,273, 666; polytechnics have 19,052 staff with a wage bill of N19,470,041,306; while colleges of education have a staff strength of 14,632 and a wage bill of N16,050,802,737.

N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.  

Egwu, who briefed the press on the ongoing impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government said: “As a result of consultations, government has offered, through the various councils of federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, 40 per cent increase for academic staff and 20 per cent for non-academic staff.
“The overall implication of the increased salary package for all the federal tertiary institutions is an additional N20,662,216,956.00 with an effective date of July 2009.”
According to him, “government’s offer with regards to the entire re-negotiated package is hinged upon the fact that there must be unqualified commitment on the part of the staff unions and that in the pursuit of their avowed goals, they will respect the sanctity of the regular university academic calendar, which all must strive to return to and maintain.”
Not only that, he added: “ASUU should commit itself to the primacy of dialogue and due process over and above those tactics which undermine and disrupt good order in the conduct of university business.”
The minister said another round of negotiations begin on Monday, following the directive by the Vice-President.
ASUU President, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, confirmed this on telephone, adding that the negotiations are to be concluded within two weeks.
On the unresolved issue of signing the provisional draft agreement, the minister reiterated that the Federal Government could only go into an agreement with its own federal institutions.
“As you are aware, ASUU is currently composed of staff from state and federal universities. Any agreement entered into with state institutions is illegal as FGN cannot commit any state government since education is in the concurrent list in the constitution,” he said.
He then appealed to the general public to appreciate government’s effort at addressing the challenges within the sector, adding that despite the ongoing crisis, government’s doors remained open to dialogue.
He also appealed to all unions on strike to return to work and allow Nigerian children who have become the victims of the crises to go back to school.
By Bukola Olatunji

University of Ibadan.

The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles (8 kilometres) from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria. It has over 12,000 students.

The University was founded on its own site on 17 November 1948. The site of the University was leased to the colonial authorities by Ibadan Chiefs for 999 years. The first students began courses in January of that year. Arthur Creech Jones, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, inaugurated the new educational institution. The University was originally instituted as an independent external college of the University of London, then it was called the University College, Ibadan. Some of the original buildings were designed by the English modernist architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. A 500-bed teaching hospital was added in 1957. The University of Ibadan became an independent university in 1962.

N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.  

In late 1963, on the University playing fields, with the celebration marked by talking drums, the Rt. Hon. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, first Prime Minister of independent Nigeria, became the first Chancellor of its independent University. The first Nigerian vice chancellor of the university was professor Kenneth Dike, after whom University of Ibadan's library is named.

Besides the College of Medicine, there are now ten other faculties: Arts, Science, Agriculture and Forestry, Social Sciences, Education, Veterinary Medicine, Technology, Law, Public Health and Dentistry.

The University has residential and sports facilities for staff and students on Campus, as well as separate botanical and zoological gardens.

University of Ibadan boasts among its former students several eminent scholars, including Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart; Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature; Odia Ofeimun (a popular Nigerian poet); Jacob Ade Ajayi (one of Africa's foremost historians); Paul Iyogun (Distinguished Operations Management Professor), Abiola Irele and the writer Kole Omotosho. Its faculty also includes the renowned Nigerian poet and folksinger Niyi Osundare, who is Professor of English there. It remains a major pioneer in the development of research south of the Sahara.


Administration
The underlisted are some of the principal members of the University administration:

People Title Position
Dr. Wole Olanipekun (SAN) Pro-Chancellor
Professor Olufemi Bamiro Vice-Chancellor
Professor Elijah Bamgboye Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration)
Professor Adigun A.B. Agbaje Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics)
Professor Eyiwumi A. Falaye Dean of Students
Mrs. Omotayo O. Ikotun Registrar
Mr J. A. Bankole Bursar
Dr. Benedict A. Oladele Librarian


Faculties
Agriculture and Forestry
Arts
Basic Medical Sciences
Clinical Sciences
Dentistry
Education
Law
Pharmacy
Public Health
Science
The Social Sciences
Technology
Veterinary Medicine

Units
The Registry
Careers Placement and Counselling Unit
Foreign Students Unit
The Sports Council
The Library
The Computing Centre
The Press
The Bookshop
The Botanical Garden
The Zoological Garden
University Media Centre, which houses the campus radio station, DIAMOND 101.1 FM.
The Abadina Media Resource Centre
Advancement Centre
The University Health Services

Halls of residence
The University is primarily residential with Halls of residence for both male & Female students. There is also provision for accommodation of post-graduate students, the halls are listed below:

Tedder Hall ---- (Male, Undergraduate)
Queen Elizabeth II Hall ---- (Female, Undergraduate)
Mellanby Hall ---- (Male, Undergraduate)
Sultan Bello Hall ---- (Male, Undergraduate)
Kuti hall ----- (Male, Undergraduate)
Queen Idia Hall ----- (Female, Undergraduate)
Obafemi Awolowo Hall ----- (Mixed, Undergraduate & Postgraduate)
Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall ----- (Male, Undergraduate)
Independence Hall ----- (Male, Undergraduate)
Tafawa Balewa Hall ----- (Mixed, Postgraduate)
Alexander Brown Hall ----- (Mixed, clinical medical, dental & physiotherapy students)

Notable Alumni
Amongst the alumni of the University of Ibadan and other institutions that fall under that banner are:

John Pepper Clark
Wole Soyinka
Chinua Achebe

ASUU Strike: Govt needs to be more proactive, says UNAD VC

Concluding part of our interview with: Prof Dipo Kolawole, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ado Ekiti. He narrates the challenges he is facing, and what he is doing to confront them. The interview was conducted IFEDAYO SAYO. Excerpts: What efforts are you making to ensure that all courses in the university are accredited?

We have 44 fully accredited programmes, six interim and two denied ones. People don't always understand this. I think what made that so is the fact that our Law programme was denied accreditation and we have written that we want them (National Universities Commission) to come back to examine our Law programme. I went to look at the root cause, the things we didn't have, we want to get them ready before they come.

N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.  

There is this issue of dearth of academic staff in some courses offered in the university. What are you doing to attract good hands to the university?

Let me say this: the location of our university does not help us in terms of manpower. I must acknowledge that. When I came here in 1983, I knew what I wanted. I thought of developing this place, but not many people feel that way, and that constitutes a problem to us. Our problem areas like Engineering, Law and Management Sciences, we have been doing all we can to attract good hands. For example, as at the time our Law programme was denied accreditation, there was no single person with a Ph.D there. But now, there are two Ph.D holders. Besides, just last week, I approved the appointment of a Reader from the University of Jos and two professors - all the three of them are Ph.D holders, and we are going to get some people from Ife to join.

In the Management Sciences, we have just got somebody with a Ph.D in Business Administration, who is coming to join at the higher level of that department. In Engineering, we have some people that we have brought in to deepen the manpower of that place. So, we are doing all things to attract, recruit, in fact lure people to come here.

Most Vice Chancellors often talk about legacy they intend to leave behind at the end of their tenure. What will yours be?

I want to leave a university that is far, far better than what I met. I'm aware that this university has had two previous vice chancellors who made an impressive impact on the university too. I also want to improve on what they did, therefore, I'm targeting history. History is very important to me. We are going to transform in terms of physical environment, transportation, in terms of human resources, because human resource is very, very important. For instance, we have promoted many of our staff. Those who were felt stagnated before have been moved up and they are now in the higher ranking of the system, contributing to our reform agenda.

Let's talk about the crisis in the university system at the moment. What implication will the agitation by ASUU and other unions have on the university system?

Unless government itself tries to be pro-active, by having a built-in mechanism for resolving some of the issues, the problem will continue. In other words, if there is an increment today, there must be an agreement when the next increment would be, and at what percentage. The system must have its own built-in mechanism. In Britain, you don't hear that, because they want to improve in the university system, they are going on strike before government reacts. In USA, you don't hear that. In France, you don't hear that. Why is it difficult for us to initiate what is good elsewhere? So, these dysfunctional factors, I think is on the part of government to do something about it.

For example, the ongoing crisis began with the 2001 FGN/ASUU agreement. Couldn't the issues have been resolved since that time? Could the various administrations since then have been making mistakes that are not resolving it? Now, you look at the destruction taking place, and then the fire brigade approach. It doesn't even give room for proper planning, it doesn't even give the impression of seriousness and I think these things government needs to do.

I want to believe that, if the crises are resolved, the universities are likely to be better off and be more stable.

But there are fears that, whatever the outcome of the current negotiation turns out to be, in terms of welfare, the state universities may not be able to cope in terms of funding.

Well, I don't want to preempt, but the universities in Nigeria are organic. So, whatever happens to the one at the center will affect others, because the danger is that, if you don't do it at the state level, people would move away. There is a higher level of opportunities elsewhere, coupled and a high level of mobility for those who want to go away. The number of universities is increasing everyday, the private universities are snatching people and therefore, you may have a federal or a state university that does not have any staff to dispense knowledge

So, whatever happens at the center, the state governments would have to go out of their way to look for funds. A university is a capital-intensive enterprise, so you don't embark on it unless you have projected that you can cope with its demands. It's not a child's play. You must looks at its implications

Recently, you were elected the chairman of the Peace and Security Committee of the African Union's ECOSSOC. What is the assignment given to this committee of yours?

Well, the assignment is very simple. ECOSSOC (Economic Socio and Cultural Council) of the African Union has 10 standing committees, one of which is on peace and security. The whole lesson is that, and that is why it's considered the most important, for whatever you want to do, you can only do it under a condition of peace and security, to be able to meet the demands of its people.

At a micro level of our own nation Nigeria, we need peace to be secured and we need security to have peace. Therefore, you can take that at a micro level of the continent. Every country in the African continent needs peace and security. But more importantly, there are some countries in the African continent that are in dire need of peace and security.

And therefore what the EXCOSSOC peace and security would do is to look at these five points and offer professional guidance, and advice for our heads of states on how these problems could be combated. And that is easy for us because we relate to the civil societies, we know what is happening at the grassroots. We do not approach issues as government to government, it must be person to person.

If you look at the African continent, from 1980 to now, there have been 28 flashpoints. And that is why, you find out whether in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and even in Nigeria, you can see problems that need to be looked into. If you look at Nigeria for example, economy now is getting worse because of the problem in the Niger Delta. It seems to me that if the Niger Delta issue is solved, then you can get more secured. Anybody who wants to go to Niger Delta now knows in his or her heart that anything could happen.

So, we look at the problem areas and advise the African leaders. But let me say this to you: one thing that occurs to me, is that some of these problems are products of lack of good governance. If you have good governance, if you are anticipatory and responsive and recapture to the yearnings and demands of the citizenry, you are likely to tie them to your government and once you tie them to your government, then you are likely to have peace and security.

I want to believe that many African countries or African leaders have not engaged in good governance.

Latest Update on NASU Strike

The Non –Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), has vowed that it would continue the current strike until the Federal Government implements the 52 per cent agreement reached with it. It also described the 20 percent increment in its salary as inconsequential. Speaking at a one-day emergency Trade Group Meeting of delegates from all Nigerian Universities and Inter –University Centres, held at the University of Lagos last Friday, the General Secretary of the association, Comrade Peters Adeyemi said the 20 per cent salary increment that was approved for the members by the Federal Government was nothing to right home about and for that reason they would not accept it. According to him, about two years ago, Federal Government constituted a committee to look into the demands of NASU members. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   He said that after negotiation, the committee in which Gamaliel Onosode represented the Federal Government recommended 52 per cent increment to the government. Adeyemi said they were surprised that government later denied that there was no negotiation between NASU and government, adding that while the negotiation was going on, there was no time government came out to say that it had no confidence in its team which was ably represented by Onosode. His words" I want to say that this government is insincere. Two years ago, it constituted a negotiation team with Gamaliel Onosode as its representative to look into the demands of NASU.We negotiated for two years and came up with an agreement .The Onosode committee agreed on 52 per cent salary increment.We were surprised that government has now gone back on its words by saying that there was no agreement and therefore approved mere 20 percent. But government cannot impose a decision on us." The NASU scribe said a government preaching due process and rule of law should honour the decision of its representatives. According to him, the 20 per cent increment was based on nothing, adding that the same government approved higher percentage to the workers in the other fields without taking into cognizance that NASU was poorly paid. "Even if government approves 100 per cent increment for everybody, there will still be disparity and our salary will not be the same with others. For us to be producing quality graduates, we deserve to be well paid. We deserve to be empowered and motivated." He said government had started to employ different tactics to break the ranks of the members. According to him, one of the tactics was no work no pay. He also said what NASU was demanding was not only salary increment but also improvement in other conditions of service. According to him, one of their demands was that the retirement age of NASU members should be increased to 65 years from the current 60 years. At the end of the emergency meeting, newsmen were shown a copy of the 52 per cent agreement reached between Federal Government representatives and NASU officials. Both parties duly signed the agreement. Forty-two branches of NASU nation wide attended the One-Day emergency meeting and all of them came with solidarity messages from their branches in favour of the strike continuing until all their demands are met.

One Feared Dead in Students’ Rampage

One person was feared dead and several others injured as police , yesterday in Lokoja, the Kogi state  capital, clashed with protesting secondary school students who invaded the Lugard House, seat of Kogi State Government,  in protest of the non-payment of the salaries of teachers and other civil servants by the state government.  N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   Also yesterday, in compliance with the directive of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, the civil servants  commenced an indefinite strike action in protest of the non-payment of salaries of workers, indiscriminate removal of names of civil servants from payment vouchers and what they referred to as high handedness of Messrs Sally Tibbot, the consultant engaged by the state government to conduct staff audit exercise aimed at eliminating ghost workers from the civil service. Thousands of the students, drawn from Bishop Crowder Memorial Secondary School, Government Science Secondary School, Bishop Delis Secondary School, Muslim Community Secondary School and Government Day Secondary School, all in Lokoja,  were irked that their teachers were to proceed on strike again barely a month after they called off a strike that lasted four months due to government's insensitivity to their plight. The students noted that a situation whereby government would continue to treat teachers with contempt and remain insensitive to their plight is no longer acceptable to them. They also said  they  would not tolerate anything that could lead to the teachers embarking on another strike, stressing that  they have been on the receiving end of frequent face-offs between government and teachers in the state. Trouble started when students of Bishop Crowder Memorial Secondary School, who resumed schooling last month after eight months of closure of their school and were to start their examinations yesterday got to school and were told by the teachers that the examinations could not commence because of the non-payment of their salaries and removal of their names from payment vouchers. Like soldiers ready for battle, the students moved to Bishop Delis Secondary School which is about 300 metres to their school where they were joined by their mates to set up bonfires in front of Bishop Delis' gate. The students were however dislodged by policemen from the Area Command Office opposite the School who used teargas canisters to disperse them while the Principal of the school was whisked to the police station to make statements. Using cell phones, the students thereafter communicated with their mates in the remaining three schools after they were dislodged by the police and after mobilising themselves, they headed for Government House to register their protest to the Governor who, unfortunately had traveled abroad on an economic mission.             On getting to Government House, they were prevented from gaining entrance by security operatives who dispersed them with teargas while the students responded by hauling stones and other dangerous objects at the policemen and thereafter pulled down the Governor's billboards mounted along Government House Road .After being dispersed from Government House, the students moved into the town and set up bonfires at various spots including Federal Medical Centre Junction, Specialist Hospital Junction, Old Living Faith Junction as well as Nostalgia Hotel Junction where they again clashed with security agents who fired live ammunitions in a bid to dislodge the rampaging students leading to a boy being hit by a stray bullet. Speaking with THISDAY on phone, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Salisu,  revealed that several policemen who sustained varying degrees of injuries were receiving treatment in the hospital while several vehicles were vandalised just as he disclosed that those arrested among the students were being detained at the police headquarters in Lokoja.

Senate, ASUU, FG Talks End in Stalemate

The meeting convened yesterday at the instance of Senate Committee on Education to broker a truce between striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government ended in stalemate. It was the second time the intervention by the Senate Committee in the lingering face-off between ASUU and the Federal Government would collapse. Yesterday's meeting was abruptly called off by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Joy Emodi, when it became apparent that ASUU and FG were not ready to shift ground. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   An exasperated Emodi said: "I commend the Federal Government team on their understanding in this matter; it is unfortunate that the fates of our children are left to hang on unpatriotic zeal of some individuals; well, here is where we end this meeting, thank you." Both parties had stuck to their respective positions with ASUU insisting that the Federal Government announced an agreement without proper documentation, stressing, "as we talk now, there is no solid evidence of any agreement reached at the negotiating committee meeting." The Union, led by its President, Dr. Ukachukwu Awuzie, said that it wanted strong commitment from government that it would faithfully implement any agreement reached, arguing that the government was paying lips service to the critical issues. Awuzie noted that the grouse of ASUU was that government imposed its stance on the Union rather than observed the due process of placing their offer at the negating council.According to him, "whatever agreement reached must be on paper and on air or news media as the government has done over the increase of 40 percent in the salary."But the government side led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, agreed to represent its offer of 40% salary increase and other offers at a resumed negotiation meeting for further necessary action as demanded by the ASUU. When the meeting was about settling on a date for resumption of further negotiation, a member of the ASUU team, Dr. Dapo Fashina interjected, with a request that the Senate Committee should commit the government team to make a promise that it will sign any acceptable agreement to both sides reached at the negotiations. It was at this point that Emodi lost her temper and abruptly called off the meeting. Meanwhile, the Industrial Arbitration Panel  (IAP) has directed the ASUU to return to work pending determination of the case before it.  Egwu promised  that government would explore the option of the IAP to deal with the matter.

Lagos rewards pupils, teachers

Gone are the days when teachers were comforted with the hope of a pie in heaven, as they now enjoy the fruit of their labour. Last Wednesday at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, Mrs Olajumoke Taibat Odukoya walked up to the podium to receive her award, a brand new KIA RIO car, as the best teacher in Lagos State. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes as the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, handed her the key. She was one of the awardees at the 2009 annual education merit award organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education. Along with her, 29 others in different categories also smiled home with different awards and prizes. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   Declaring the occasion open, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Princess Sarah Sosan, stated that the ceremony was an acknowledgement of the important role of teachers in the education of children. She noted that the joy of the occasion provided a golden moment for reflection and appraisal of individual goals and commitment to responsibilities. "Today's ceremony is in line with our tradition to recognise the acknowledged role of teachers as moulders of minds through transmission of knowledge to pupils and students, thus empowering them to function positively in their environment", she added. She explained that those that were selected for the award were meticulously screened, and have clear evidence of excellent service, stressing that the honour bestowed on them should serve as a boost to others to aspire to a higher level of dedication to work. Sosan acclaimed the commitment of the Babatunde Raji Fashola led administration in improving the quality of education in the state. She noted that the government will not relent in its effort in introducing and sustaining measures that will give verve to all sectors of public administration, including the education sector. She stated that teachers' welfare should be taken into consideration to achieve higher productivity. In her words: "We recognise that the quality of education cannot be improved without the continual improvement of our teachers and the environment in which they work. These are germane if we must reap the expected returns of this administration's investment in as against mere funding of education as obtained in the past". The Deputy Governor promised that the Fasola-led administration in the state would continually expose teachers to quality training programmes in order to give a new face to public schools. Hear her: "I want to assure you that your welfare will always get appropriate attention because we recognise your contribution to the development of our great state. We have a man whose word is his bond as the captain that steers the ship of this administration. Therefore, I appeal to you to continue to be hardworking, focused and co-operative to the educationsector". She also appealed to the teachers to uphold the glory of the profession. "We have been called to this ministry and we should do our bit especially as the Unseen Eye watches. We will all be recompensed by the Wise one for our service to humanity", she said. In his remarks, the Chairman, Sir Kessignton Adebutu said: "An occasion like this not only affords government an opportunity to reward hardworking personnel, pupils and students at different levels of performance, but also gives the recipients the opportunity to reflect on their work, attitude and contribution to the operations of the Ministry of Education." He explained that the award will encourage the winners to consistently work hard to improve their performance and reinforce their self confidence to ensure that the winning streak is sustained. He charged other workers not yet in the honours list to join the league. While commending their efforts, he expressed the hope that they will deliver more efficient and effective services that will make Lagos a clear leader in the education sector. The Chairman advised the awardees to continue to make hardwork their watchword. He said: "Success without honour is an unseasoned dish; it may satisfy hunger but it won't taste good in the mouth, thus it is better to strive for a combination of both success and honour through the quality of work. Recognition will of necessity follow when you continuously do the right thing over a period of time". He urged them to avoid actions or behaviours that could render the award void. Sir Adebutu, who was moved by the plight of one of the awardees, Master Hassan Gbeleyi, the best special pupil from Atunda-Olu School for Physically Challenged Pupils Surulere, donated the sum of N5m for his health and educational needs. He commended the government of Lagos State and the organizers for the initiative, noting that it is one way of taking education out of the doldrums where it has been over a long period of time. Also speaking, the Special Guest of Honour, Otunba Olanrewaju Folorunsho, stressed the need to improve the quality of education in public schools. Otunba Folorunsho, who advised the government to collaborate with the private sector, urged the teachers to support government's effort in providing qualitative education. "We must support government's worthy efforts. Government should find a way of involving the private sector. Private sector can collaborate only on worthy ventures. From what I see, we have a good programme on ground. I pray that tomorrow's government will sustain today's noble efforts", he said. Otunba also expressed faith that the rehabilitation work in public schools in the state would revive the institutions to glorious places of learning, adding that the decay witnessed in the past in the education sector was not a death-sentence after all. He described the award recipients as ambassadors, adding that the awards would inspire others to work hard. The auditorium became agog with excitement as they came out in turns to receive their prizes. In the primary school category, Mrs Funsho Adeola Olaniyi of Anifowose Primary School, Ikeja, clinched the Best Head Teacher award, while the Best Assistant Head-teacher award went to Mr Abdulmalik Abiodun Ahoton of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society Primary School, Badagary in Education District five. Miss Olayiwola Basirat of Community Primary School, Ijanikin-Ojo emerged the best pupil, just as Hassan Gbeleyi of Atunda-Olu school for Physically Challenged Pupils won the Best Special Pupil award. For his hardwork and diligence, Mr Michael Adesola Adeoye of Iju Station Primary School, Iju-Ifako, was named the best non-teaching staff. The best overall primary school award went to Araromi Primary School, Gbagada in Education District two. In the Junior Secondary School category, Mr Agidi Balogun Rasuki of Lagos State Junior Model College, Igbonla emerged the best principal and went home with a giant freezer as well as a plaque. The Best Vice –Principal award went to Mrs Orolu Jemilat Abike of Ijaye Housing Estate Junior Secondary School who got a colour television, while the Lagos State Junior Model College, Igbonla emerged the best Junior Secondary School. The best non-teaching staff award went to Awofala Babatunde Taofeeq of Immaculate Junior Comprehensive High School, Maryland. It was also a rewarding day for Joyce Moses of Eva Adelaya Girls Junior secondary School as emerged the best student in the junior secondary school category. In the senior secondary school category, Mrs Ogboye Sherifat Atinuke of Community Senior Grammar School, Surulere, won the Best Principal award, while the Best Vice-Principal award went to Mrs Adekanye Afoluke Oyebisi of Dr.Lucas Memorial Senior High School, Kirikiri Town. Also, Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbonla was honoured as the best school, while Master Okoli Kenneth of Keke Senior High School won the Best Student award. Mrs Lawal Funmilayo Odebunmi of Araromi Senior Secondary School, Iganmu was equally crowned the best non- teaching staff. Among the technical colleges in the state, Kamiloye Oluwatosin of Government Technical College, Epe in Education District three, emerged the best principal. Also, Government Technical College, Agidingbi was adjudged the overall best technical college, with Adelowo Amos Adebayo of the same school as the best vice-principal. The Best Non-teaching award went to Fakorede Michael of Government Technical College, Ado Soab, while Fiyebo Noah of Government Technical College, Epe, smiled home with the Best Student award. Members of staff were also honoured with the best staff awards for their outstanding performance in 2009. Those that won in that category were, Mrs Sherifat Akinsemoyin of Education District four, Olusegun Oluyomi Ekundayo of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Gabriel Oluguyiga of TEPO and Mrs Iyabode Kazeem of office of the Special Adviser on Education. Miss Basirat Idowu Akinlade emerged the best senior staff in the Ministry of Education, just as Ogedengbe Williams, a security staff was honoured as the best junior staff. They all smiled home with various home appliances and plaques. The climax of the occasion was the presentation of the Best Teacher award to Mrs Odukoya Taibat Olajumoke, a Biology teacher at Baptist Senior High School, Obanikoro. Consolation prizes were also given to the first runner-up, Mrs Omotehinse Hellen Ibileye of Iganmu Senior High School and Mrs Omoaka Lucy Emike Ojo of Lagos State Senior Model College, Meiran. In appreciation of the honour bestowed on her, Mrs Odukoya Taibat, paid glowing tribute to the government of Lagos State for the award, describing it as a great motivation. Speaking to journalists shortly after the car was presented to her, she said: "God made it possible. The work, my love for the children and my interaction with them are perhaps the reason why I was chosen. During my interaction with the children, I was able to bring out the other factor in them to help them achieve excellence". Mrs Odukoya, who has been a teacher for 11 years, advised her colleagues in the teaching profession to be dedicated to their duties and never to look to immediate reward, adding that she never bargained for the favour she received. Beaming with joy for the honour, Mrs Ogboye Sherifat Atinuke, who won the Best Principal in the senior secondary category, praised the Lagos State government for celebrating hardwork. "I always have that belief that it is good to work hard. And this is an honour to me by the Lagos State government. It will motivate and encourage me to put in my best which I have been doing. Moreover, I will not rest on this present achievement", she affirmed. Mrs Ogboye who has been in the teaching profession for 29 years, and a principal for 25 years, stressed that discipline has remained her watchword. She revealed that she does not tolerate indolent attitude among staff and students. In her words: "I am not a sit-down principal so no teacher in the school will sit in the staff-room during lesson period. Even for those who would opt to, seeing other teachers taking up their books at the beginning of every lesson period will definitely tell them that our school is not a place to sit down".

FG plans N180,000 varsity fees per session - SSANU

After initial seven days warning strike action, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has ordered its members to embark on an indefinite action that may totally cripple activity in the nation's universities in protest against government's plan to increase students tuition fees to N180,000 per session. Rising from an emergency National Executive meeting in Abuja at the weekend, the association resolved to protest the anti-people policy that is aimed at protecting and granting access to the children of only the rich and those in position of authority in the country. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   National President of SSANU, Comrade Promise Adewusi who read the resolutions of his association's emergency meeting, said that it was worrisome that while minimum wage still stood at N5,000, the government was moving to impose on the same parents a whopping N180,000 fee per child. According to Comrade Adewusi, "Even at the paltry N20,000 or N25,000 they pay in the federal universities, most parents can still not conveniently and comfortably do this. If this is allowed to happen, what that means in effect is that education will be priced out of the reach of the children of the poor, which we do not want. It means the ministers will continue to produce ministers, the governors will continue to produce governors and the peasants, the labourers, the gardeners will produce gardeners because they will not go to school." The SSANU president further said; "So, we want a fair playing field because we have been blackmailed in most times that, look, if you want an enhanced condition of service, accept introduction of school fees in our universities. We have always maintained this solidarity with our students because even our children are in these universities, because we cannot afford to send our own children out of the country, like other government public functionaries who hardly have any of their children in Nigerian universities." In this wise, Comrade Adewusi announced that the association, having painstakingly studied the consequences of the government's plan, directed all of its members to resume its suspended strike with effect from July 20, 2009 even as it also rejected the proposed salary increase for its members but insisted on the full implementation of the product of its collective bargaining with Federal Government. According to Comrade Adewusi; "What this means, is that the universities have to be shut down, because our members are the one maintaining the services that keep the students in comfort, now we cannot guarantee this comfort. I think the best advice in this circumstance is for parents to reach out to their wards and their children because we cannot guarantee that there will be facilities that will continue to sustain them in classes and hostels. For avoidance of any untoward thing, even our members in the clinics, the doctors and nurses, we are withdrawing them until government sees reason. We are withdrawing all our personnel from the works and services, electricity, water." The SSANU national president also described the purported inauguration of the minimum wage committee last week Thursday as an exercise in futility saying that it was merely a ploy by government to buy time like what it did to members of the association in the past, if allowed to get away with it. Adewusi stressed; "It will just be for the purpose of buying time and by the time they take us on a rollercoaster and rigmarole for the next two years, they will say gentlemen, elections are here and a new government will be inaugurated soon, why not wait for the new government to be the one to implement it. It is difficult for us to trust the government with what they have done with this." Commenting on universities funding, Comrade Adewusi said that it was one of the issues that arose from the 2001 agreement during which it was agreed that government was supposed to progressively improve funding, adding that when former President Olusegun Obasanjo came, funding was inadequate but the administration managed to get to 11 per cent.              By  AMOS DUNIA, Abuja

Go back to classrooms or lose public sympathy, Mark urges ASUU

President of the Senate, David Mark, on Thursrday, called on the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other units of the nation's tertiary institutions, to go back to work or lose public sympathy. In a brief interview with airport correspondents at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, the Senate President, while pleading with them to go back to work, said staying away from work was not the best thing to do. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   His words: "We are pleading with them to go back to work. I believe when they go back to work, they can negotiate, but to keep away is not the best. They have made their points in my candid opinion and to overdrive it now, they will be over flogging the issue. They should go back to work. The lecturers should not insist on not going back to the class room. The important thing is for them to make their points and let the government realise that they have got a genuine point and they have made it. If they over flog it, they will lose public sympathy, but at the moment, they have public sympathy and I think they should not over flog it," he added. In a related development, an association of Muslim Women in Business and Professions, has called on the Federal Government and the ASUU to resolve the current impasse between them. The organisation, in a release issued in Lagos by its district Amirah (President), Hajia Sherifah Joke Yusuf, described the situation as that of two elephants fighting, while the grass suffers, noting that leaving the young university undergraduates out of schools in the name of strike, portended a great danger ahead. The Amirah, an educationist herself, who argued that the incessant strikes were capable of exposing the undergraduates to series of unworthy activities, declared: "the devil finds work for the idle hands."                        By  Shola Adekola

Jay Jay Okocha institutes scholarship awards

THE University of Bolton, Greater Manchester has announced scholarship awards to Nigerian students to pursue degree programmes of their choice. The University is working with Jay Jay Okocha to provide £20,000 worth of scholarships to 10 Nigerian students, with a drive to succeed. Each of the 10 awardees would receive £2,000. There will be a special prize for winners of the scholarship from Bolton Wanderers FC. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   Speaking on the initiative, the Head of International Recruitment of University of Bolton, Jeffrey Williams stated that the scholarship is structured to provide several young talented Nigerians with the opportunity to pursue their dream of getting a quality British education. "The scholarship is an exciting opportunity for Nigerian students to pursue their academic and career goals without financial barriers that make it difficult for many young people to attain success in school. "The course and living costs in the university are the cheapest available in United Kingdom. Students have access to the campus job shop where they can receive help to find part time job while studying, as well as, professional work on graduation," he added. According to him, students' visa details enable them to work up to 20 hours per week on a part time job, and earn between five to £10 per hour. Head of International Recruitment further explained that Nigerians with WASSCE and SSCE are eligible for the University Foundation, which has duration of 15 weeks. He stated that HND students are eligible for Second or Third year Bachelor Degree Top Up. While a minimum of 2:2 entry requirements is expected from those applying for Postgraduate Studies. The Vice Chancellor, Dr. George Holmes stated that he looked forward to receiving Nigerian students.

World higher education conference advocates more access for disadvantaged groups

THE 193 member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Education (UNESCO) have been urged to guarantee equal access to under-represented groups like workers, the poor, minorities, migrants, refugees and other vulnerable populations for higher education opportunities. They were also implored to maintain, if possible, but without mentioning a specific figure, increased investment in higher education to "sustain quality and equity at all times, and foster diversification in both the provision of higher education and the means of funding." This recommendation is closely linked with the assertion that research at this level should "reflect growing expectations and societal needs." N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   According to a communiquŽ issued at the end of World Conference on Higher Education, which ended in Paris, France last Wednesday, member states were also urged to guarantee women's access to, participation and success in higher education. Besides, participants agreed that world nations should put in place and strengthen appropriate quality assurance systems and regulatory frameworks with the involvement of all stakeholders. Significantly, they were implored to develop mechanisms to counteract the negative impact of the brain drain while encouraging academic staff and student mobility and enhance the attractiveness of the academic career by ensuring respect for the rights and adequate working conditions of academic staff. Participants, the communiquŽ stated, also agreed on a wide range of issues of how important higher education is to all nations. For instance, they unanimously agreed that this level of education "is the responsibility of all stakeholders, especially governments." Not only did they declare the autonomy was a necessary requirement for higher education institutions to fulfill their missions, they also affirmed that higher education must not only give skills for the present and future world, but should also contribute to the education of ethical citizens, committed to the construction of peace, the defence of human rights and the values of democracy. While participants expressed fears that the current economic downturn may widen the gap in access and quality between developed and developing countries, they observed that "at no time in history has it become important to invest in higher education as a major force in building an inclusive and diverse knowledge society," as the present moment. The past decade, the communiquŽ noted, "provides the evidence that higher education and research contribute to the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and to the progress toward reaching the internationally agreed development goals and Education for All (EFA)." Participants acknowledged that expanding access to higher education had become a priority in the majority of member states, just as increasing participation had also become a global trend. But they asserted that in expanding access, "higher education must pursue the goals of relevance and equity simultaneously." But equity, they affirmed, is not just a matter of access, but "the objective must be successful participation and completion, as well as assuring student welfare, with the appropriate financial and educational support to those from poor and marginalised communities." The communiquŽ continued, "our ability to realise the goal of Education For All is dependent upon our ability to address the worldwide shortage of teachers. Higher education must scale up teacher education, both pre-service and in-service, with curricula that equip teachers to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century. This will require new approaches, including Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Information And Communications Technologies (ICTs)." Significantly, participants insisted that the training offered by institutions must respond to and anticipate societal needs. That it should promote research for development and the use of new technologies, to ensure the provision of technical and vocational training, entrepreneurship education, and programmes for lifelong training. On access matters where Africa is concerned, the document stated, "to meet the rapidly increasing demand for higher education in Africa, there is an urgent need for differentiated institutions, ranging from research universities to polytechnics and technical colleges, as well as diversified programmes within each institution, to cater for different learners as well as the needs of the country. "The increasing demand for higher education will hardly be met by traditional face - to - face delivery alone. Other approaches, such as Open and Distance and online learning, will have to be resorted to, especially for areas such as continuous adult education and teacher training." On funding, it asserted, "while every effort must be made to increase public funding of higher education, it must be recognised that public funds are limited and may not be able to fully cater to the rapidly developing sector. Other formulae and sources of funding, especially drawing on the public - private partnership model should be found."                                                                             By Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi

Lagos Rewards Teachers, Seeks Commitment

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Princess Adebisi Sarah Sosan, has advised teachers in the state not to give excuses in the performance of their duties. She said this was the only way government could recognise their input into the state's efforts at changing the face of education.  N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   Sosan said these during the 2009 annual education merit award, held at the state's secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. The  "most resourceful teacher," Mrs Olajumoke Odukoya, went home with a brand new Kia Rio saloon car. Sheteaches at Baptist Senior High School, Obanikoro and also emerged as the best teacher in the state for 2008. Other teachers, students and schools in the state's primary, junior and senior secondary schools, also received various awards. Sosan, who also supervises the Ministry of Education, said any teacher that gives excuses would not achieve success, adding that the awards were meant to recognise diligent and hard working teachers,  to make them impact positively on the pupils. "This award is in line with our tradition to recognise the acknowledged role of teachers as moulders of minds through transfer of knowledge to pupils and students and thus empowering them to function positively in their environment. "All of those being honoured today have obviously done away with excuses in the performance of their responsibilities for, in the words of Benjamin Franklin,  'he that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else,' which is why they have emerged as award recipients," she said. "She stressed that those being honoured emerged tops after a screening procedure.She added that their emergence was due to passion and dedication they had demonstrated in the discharge of their duties.The Deputy Governor also pointed out that in the face of all the awards, government recognises the fact that the quality of education cannot be improved without the continual upgrade of the teachers and the environment in which they work.She disclosed that government will continually expose the teachers to quality training programme in a bid to improve on the public schools more than any other state.Chairman of the event, Otunba Olarenwaju Folorunso, explained that a quiet revolution is currently taking place in the educational sector in the state, adding that government had shown enough desire and intents to change the system.Acknowledging the efforts of government, Folorunso said he had thought that giving awards to deserving workers was only practiced in the private sectors. He urged the teachers to reciprocate the gestures by putting in their best.He appealed to the government to always involve the private sectors when embarking on awards of this nature, noting that such involvement might further spur teachers in the public sector to strive to achieve excellence..The best teacher of the year said she believed her emergence was as a result of the extra-curricular activities she engaged herself with in the school and clubs.Odukoya said her award will encourage others to put in their best and be dedicated to the service of the students.

POLY JAMB RESULTS RELEASED, withholds 11,105

THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has withheld the results of 11,105 candidates who sat for the last Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (MPCE) matriculation examination last weekend for alleged irregularities. Also, results of four examination centres involved in examination malpractices during the examination had been cancelled. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   The Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, disclosed at a news conference in Abuja, on Wednesday, to announce the release of the 2009 MPCE results, four days after the examination was conducted. The examination centres where results were cancelled are: 14501, Rivers State College of Education, Rumulomeri, Port Har-court; 14502 and 14503, all in the same college. The other centre is 01502, Western Ahaoda Country High School, Omoka Road, Ahaoda, Rivers State. He disclosed that the board had already sent the list to the Federal Ministry of Education for appropriate sanctions on the authorities of the schools, adding that the results withheld were also being investigated. According to the results released, a male candidate, Jideonwo Onyeka Nwachu-kwu with registration number 93579964DA, emerged the JAMB overall best candidate by scoring 268. Also, a set of twins, Obetta Solomon Chukwudi, with registration number 93266882CF and Obetta Patience Nneka, with registration number 93266539IE, emerged second and third best candidates respectively. A female candidate, Akuta Isorochi Deborah with registration number 932662CF, tied with Chukwudi, as second best candidate with 264 scores. Ojerinde disclosed that the results of 331,852 out of the 342,957 application received and processed by the JAMB, had been released and already placed on the internet.

VC laments ASUU strike

WORRIED by the biting effects of the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, yesterday said the strike could frustrate the successful implementation of some international programmes. The university was one of the 10 top universities in the world that won a grant of $900,000, donated by McArthur Foundation to host a new Master's degree programme in Development Practice. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   He said, "Nobody would want to come from Ghana, Botswana or other countries to University of Ibadan for a four-semester programme and would be happy spending more due to instability in the system". Continuing, he noted that, "People who are coming to you want to be assured that there is stability in the system. If they sense any instability, they will not come. They may decide to go to other African countries with relative stability.". One of the programmes that the incessant strikes and erratic power supply could hinder its success, according to the VC, is MDP. To reduce the possible effects of the epileptic power supply, the university don told newsmen that the institution had gone ahead to acquire two giant generators at the cost of N350m. Another snag that could frustrate the institution's efforts was how to afford about 850 litres of diesel to keep the generators running. He said, having acquired the generators, "Where then do we get money to procure diesel and other equipment necessary for the servicing of the generators? We cannot charge tuition and we dare not increase fees any how. We have to depend on our IGR." Each of the generators, he added, would consume at least 850 litres of diesel every hour. "That is about five drums. Going by the rising cost of diesel, the university would spend a lot to power the entire campus, he stated.. He was, however, hopeful that the move by the institution to further reduce the effects of power outage would pay off as he stressed that the administrative building, offices of the VC, DVC and the streetlight in the Oduduwa area of the campus are being powered by solar energy". ….As lecturers accuse Poly of inciting students LECTURERS of the Polytechnic, Ibadan and other higher institutions in Oyo State have alleged that the authorities are instigating students of the institution against them due to the on-going strike over the introduction of obnoxious tax by the Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala-led administration. Just on Friday, the lecturers of the institutions raised alarm that some people were threatening to kill them. The Chairman of ASUP, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Comrade Dosunmu Adewale made this known to newsmen. But the Public Relations of the institution, Mr. Sola Soladoye denied the allegation, saying it was baseless and meaningless. He said, "it may be a ploy to blackmail the management. It is not impossible that some people want the strike to continue unabated". The chairman of the ASUP called on well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the state government to remove the crucifying tax which is not being implemented in any institution across the country.                               By Ola Ajayi & Akinwunmi Bello

No end to our strike until ... - ASUU

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Sunday, asked Nigerians to brace up for a long struggle, saying that the strike embarked upon by the union had just begun. The notice was coming despite the 40 per cent increase in the salaries of the university teachers announced by the Federal Government on Friday.  N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   A statement by the chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) branch, Dr. Pius Enikanselu, however, appealed for cooperation and understanding from the public on the issues that led to the strike. He said the call became necessary, as the union was not ready to shift ground on its demand, particularly on better funding of the university system in the country. He said: "All members of ASUU and the Nigerian public must brace up for a long struggle ahead in order to retrieve the Nigerian university system from the Federal Government cabal and its agents, who are solidly resistant to efforts at ameliorating brain drain and massive decadence in our universities." According to the union, the Federal Government's handling of the matter had shown that it was not ready for a sincere and permanent solution to the problem facing the Nigerian university system. Enikanselu said that the union had rejected Mr. Gamaliel Onosode's directive that subsequent negotiations and other matters contained in the draft agreement reached by both the FG team and ASUU team would henceforth be negotiated with each university's governing council. According to him, the move by the Federal Government was an attempt to destroy collective bargaining in the nation's university system. He also debunked the claim by the Federal Government that members of the ASUU executive were frustrating the resolution of the impasse by refusing to attend last Friday's meeting with the Government Negotiating Team, where the 40 per cent increase in salaries was announced. He explained that, ASUU National President, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, last Wednesday, got a telephone call from Onosode that the meeting would be holding on Friday, but that the ASUU president told Onosode that the date was not convenient for ASUU for logistics reasons. According to him, Onosode insisted on the Friday date, saying he would travel out on Sunday, while the ASUU team insisted on getting a formal invitation before agreeing to attend the meeting but none was given to Awuzie. He said: "The truth is that Onosode is being used to bring the concept of collective bargaining to an end in the university system by hiding under their own concept of university autonomy, which they claimed they had granted the universities. We are ready to fight this to the end. "If the Federal Government had accepted everything in the agreement, as claimed by the Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili, the Minister of Labour, Mr. Tokunbo Kayode SAN, and Justice Minister, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, Onosode's role would have been to invite us for a signing ceremony." He said that ASUU would have been present if it was duly invited for the meeting.

                                                                                         By Yinka Oladoyinbo

Latest ASUU strike update: ‘We Haven’t Received New Salary Notice’

National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, yesterday reacted to the reported 40 per cent increase in salary, offered by the federal government, saying the union was yet to receive a formal notice to that effect. When told that the leader of the ASUU/FG Re-negotiation Committee, Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, had announced on Friday that the federal government was prepared to offer a 40 percent wage increase as against the 109 percent being demanded by the lecturers, Awuzie  said in a telephone chat that, "Onosode is not supposed to announce anything. He is not the Minister of Education, Labour or Finance. He is just the leader of the negotiating team. I don't understand what the 40 percent is about."  N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   He added that: "It is not right to say ASUU demanded for 109 percent because ASUU did not demand any percentage. The negotiating team headed by Onosode agreed on a number of issues including how to ensure a conducive teaching and learning environment, im-prove infrastructure, reverse brain drain as well as wages." Onosode, while announcing the 40 percent offer had added that individual universities would henceforth negotiate what it can pay its staff in the spirit of university autonomy and academic freedom.

                   By Bukola Olatunji

OOU: The rot of a university - What we are doing to clear the rot - Kawonise

Prof. Olusoga, acting Vice Chancellor (OOU)Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) started on a very good note as Ogun State University (OSU) in 1983. Though it had infrastructure challenge as it had to make do with makeshift facilities, nobody could say its products were pushovers. The products could hold their own among the nation's best. The school produced medical students who were top of the shelf just as many of its first generation Law graduates as well as those from other faculties shone like a million stars. They dusted students from older schools.  N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   They also outwitted their contemporaries from state universities. That was a long time ago. There has been a descent from the sublime to the ridiculous in the university. Gone is the glorious OOU. What you have now is a university that is miles away from the tenets of a university. OOU has become a university of anything goes. Both the students and the lecturers are disparaged by their colleagues; they have become butts of party jokes. Industry and diligence have lost their essence in the university; to score a high mark, all you need do is to play along with the lecturer either by lining up his pockets with money, change the tyres of his car or open up your thighs if you are a lady. The evil geniuses in the university have termed it mark boosting. For anyone who knows how to play the game, moving a score from 35 percent to 75 per cent is as easy as it is for a hot knife to cut through butter. At OOU, marks get boosted not by hard work but by street wisdom. It has been said that in the university, those who do not attend lectures have a way of outscoring those who do.

Another feature of the decadence that has become synonymous with the university is admission racketeering. Not too many of the students that eventually get admission offer into the university get that purely on merit; at least 50 per cent of the students get into the university through the back doors. Admission racketeering is said to be so rampant in the university that even very junior non-academic staff members usually promise candidates admission and deliver on the promise.

This has degenerated to the extent that nobody could give a specific figure of student enrolment in the university. Admission is at the whims and caprices of the people concerned without any recourse to laid down procedure. This also has led to an overstretch of the facilities in the university.

Then the university is notorious for delaying examination scripts grading. Graduates of three years and more could not be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps, further their education or seek employment simply because the lecturers have refused to grade their scripts. This has gone on for many years without those in authority being able to do anything to remedy the situation.

Sunday Tribune gathered that at a point Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) had to cut electricity supply to the main campus because of a debt of about N2million. However, instead of the university management paying the debt, it resorted to using generators and ended up spending about N3million monthly on the purchase of diesel.

Similarly, there is no water supply. In the same vein, staff members were owed series of entitlements. The management owed the unions as deductions from staff salaries were not remitted to the unions. Its accounts in various banks were extremely overdrawn to the point that the banks were threatening to stop further granting of facilities.

Worse still, some of the lecturers were accused of making false claims to academic credentials. According to the findings of the Sunday Tribune, contrary to the condition of service which made it mandatory for lecturers employed with master degrees to complete their PhD programmes within seven years of their employment, there are lecturers who have been teaching for upward of 20 years in the university with just the master degree.

The whole situation in the university had already started affecting the perception of the products of the university by the industry with the effect that many of them are spurned by employers. The matter had gotten to a head and there must be a denouement. That was at the point that the visitor to the university, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, moved in. He set up a 12-man visitation panel chaired by Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos to check the records of the university in respect of financial management, curriculum and staff development, research programmes and the general adequacy of the conditions of learning, and make recommendations necessary to move the institution forward, to effectively achieve its objectives.
Part of its terms of reference, among others, include:

• to examine the state of the infrastructure, its level of decay, its use, its maintenance and how this has affected the quality of academic activities in the university;

• establish the quantum of staff and students welfare programmes going by the prevailing situation in Nigeria and the vision of the founding fathers;

• assess the staff needs/establishment of the university in relation to the various programmes currently run by it with emphasis placed on quality and quantity of such needs in adherence to carrying capacity principle;

• study the academic programmes in the university with a view to determining its relevance and usefulness to the state; examine broadly the students' activities from the point of entry to graduation. This will include admissions, registrations, attendance in class, examinations, results, transcripts and certificate issuance, mobilisation for the NYSC and convocation ceremonies;

• find out the various challenges of the staff and students' unions and associations in the university and how such could be managed successfully; and

• find out how the university has been able to generate revenue in the last 10 years and how such has been managed. This must be done with a view to establishing the challenges of the university management in financial matters, paying attention to transparency as against opaqueness, and taxable issue, and on the basis of the foregoing, make recommendations that would lead to the proper functioning of the university.

The panel came up with its recommendations within the stipulated time. Part of the recommendations was that the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Odutola Osilesi and three other management staff; the two deputy vice-chancellors, Professors Olukayode Ajayi and O.Otolorin, and the Acting Registrar, Mr O. Osinulu be sent on compulsory leave.

The panel also recommended that the state government should address issues such as appointments that did not follow due process; lecturers appointed or promoted to senior positions without adequate number of publications, lecturers without doctorate degrees who have spent 10 years after their master degrees and without evidence of appreciable progress to complete their doctorate degree programmes would have their appointments reviewed. It also asked the government to stop appointments into professional positions without the necessary academic assessment while lecturers with questionable doctorate degrees and those who made false declarations of substantive positions at the point of interview would have their appointments determined. But the panel singled out the Bursar, Mr. A.M.A. Tonade, for commendation.

Following the recommendations of the panel, the state government put in place a new governing council, headed by Otunba Alex Onabanjo, as chairman. The council, at its first meeting, implemented the government's white paper by asking the principal officers with the exception of the bursar and the librarian to proceed on their accumulated leave and appointed Professor Olusoga Sofola. The council later disengaged the vice chancellor and paid him six months salary in lieu of notice. Since then the council has been at work trying to restore the university.

Sina Kawonise

I am aware that for about two years, there was no governing council for the univer- sity. But what kind of system was in place that allowed the rot in the university to go on unchecked for that long?
The problem had to do with leadership, putting the wrong people in positions. In Ogun State, there is this zoning formula. If the last VC came from, say, Ijebu, the next one must come from another part of the state. That narrowed down the scope of search for the right person. For instance, the last VC composed what he called the management team. Now, the management team of a university is composed of the principal officers. These are the VC, the DVC, the registrar, the bursar and the librarian. But this man enlarged the management team; he brought in the director of works and others. It became so unwieldy that sometimes they had management meeting of about 25 people. Some people knew that this was illegal. A few of these professors pointed out the illegality but the VC overruled them.

But before him, there was Professor Soyode, a first class and reputable academic. But the man had a weakness; he did not know how to decline a request. A lot of people got employed that were actually not needed, especially the non-teaching staff. They were just employing people. What was the implication of that? As at April 2007, the wage bill of the university was N97million. By the time we were inaugurated in April 2009, the salary had gone to N240 million. What happened? Yes, there was a salary review within that period but that wouldn't have increased the wage bill by more than 35 per cent.

That takes us to another problem the university had. A wage bill of N240million, how is it funded? The visitor to the university said there was no way the university could continue the way it was going and ask the management to control the way it was employing new staff. So, the government decided to give the university N148million every month. Meanwhile, Ogun State government runs 13 institutions. The total amount of money that the state government pays to these 13 institutions is N550million monthly. Out of this, OOU alone takes N148 million. Yet, ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities), OOU chapter always accuses the government of not funding that institution. Now, let's look at the issue of IGR. In a university owned by a state government, the IGR actually belongs to the government and should go to the treasury, that is the normal financial practice. But the government said instead of the money going into the treasury, the university should use it to augment what the government gives. The implication is that by the time the IGR is added to what the government gives, it amounts to over N200million. But in spite of that, the university still had to borrow every month to augment salary payment. By the time we got there, when we looked at the books, we first found a debt of N1.3million. We later found out, upon proper scrutiny, that it was N1.9 billion. Certainly, if we had not come in when we did, that university would have caved in under its own weight because it became unsustainable. The banks that were giving them loans were ready to stop that because they were not servicing those loans. The implication of that was that for about two years there was no physical development. By the time we got there, there was no water on the campus. The university was owing PHCN N2.7million. PHCN had cut off power supply to the university. We found out that instead of paying PHCN, they were buying diesel to the tune of N3million every month. These are some of the things we found on the ground and we said "No, you cannot run a university like this."

There is this question about the membership of the council that some of the members are not fit to be in the council. What is your reaction to this?That is a very surprising question because when you look at the people appointed into council, you will find out that they are distinguished Nigerians. Take our chairman, Otunba Alex Onanbanjo, for instance, he is a man who has really made his mark in the business world. He is an oil magnate, he is there in the banking industry. He is among the SW8 that bought controlling shares in Wema Bank. We have Mr. Fola Adeola, pioneer Managing Director of GT Bank, one of the best banks in the country. Just about two weeks ago, Fola Adeola signed a contract for his own company that is supposed to lay a communication backbone. The contract is worth about $240million. We have Professor Bello, who made a first class in his first degree and has risen to become a professor and a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering. We have Venerable Oyebolu, a 79-year old professional who was once a president of Nigerian Institute of Engineers. I will tell you that I am the most insignificant member of that council, not just in terms of age but also in terms of achievements and attainment. We have Honourable Odusanya, a former member of the National Assembly and Chief Otesanya, a very successful publisher. We also have Dr. Bashiru Akinyemi, a lawyer. He has a PhD in Law.

The visitor deliberately brought in people with experience in the business world into the council so that they will be able to run the university in a way that there will be value for money. If anybody is raising any question about the membership of the council that means such person does not know the pedigree of those of us in that council.

But there is also the question of non-inclusion of OOU members of staff in the council.Yes, but that is beyond the powers of the council. Now, the composition of the council is this: nine external members are appointed by the government, it is out of the nine that we have the chairman, Otunba Alex Onabanjo. Apart from the nine we have the statutory members, the VC, the DVC, the registrar as secretary, then we have two members of senate elected by the senate itself, two members of congregation and one representing convocation. On the day of our inauguration, we asked the former VC where the two members of senate were and he said the position had become vacant and that the senate had not elected new ones and that they would be elected as soon as possible. The convocation was represented by Mr. Olusanya, Rector, Adegbenro Polytechnic. He is the chairman of Alumni Association and statutorily, alumni chairman represents the convocation. Out of an 18 member council, 14 attended the inaugural meeting. The example I want to give is this. Ogun State House of Assembly has 26 members. Let's say that at the end of the 2007 elections, the election of two or three members were not conclusive, would that stop the inauguration and the functioning of the house? The house would go ahead. We also have to go ahead. We cannot say because congregation and senate have not brought their own representatives we will not govern our university. What the law says is about quorum. Once we have one-third you form the quorum. At the inaugural meeting we had 14, which was more than enough to form the quorum.

What is the council doing to clear the rot in the university?A lot. First, we are looking at the staff strength. There is this NUC (National Universities Commission) guideline on staff mix that if you have a particular number of academic staff you should have a given number of non-teaching staff. For instance, we have 810 academic staff which we are maintaining. Even those who have to go because of non productivity with respect to their PhDs, not writing papers etc will have to be replaced. If we have 810 academic staff, by the guideline of the NUC, we should not have more than 969 non-teaching staff. But when we got there we met 1715 non teaching staff, that is a veritable leakage in the system. It is very regrettable. Nobody takes delight in disengaging people who have been in a system one way or the other but somehow we have to shed weight because it has become unsustainable. Every month end is always a headache for us looking for how to raise money to pay the salary. We cannot even do any other thing apart from paying salaries. We cannot buy diesel for our generators, we cannot support our academic staff to even develop themselves. Even the university is owing staff unions. We cannot continue that way. We have spoken with the unions and they have seen reasons with us. What they are only saying now is that those we have to disengage we have to ensure that their severance allowance is paid immediately.

We have prevailed on the visitor and he has graciously approved N100million for us to do certain things. So, we are working on providing water on the campus. We are also working on electricity. We need transformers on that campus because when PHCN even supplies electricity, the network on the campus does not allow for full current. So, we want to get more transformers. So, the N100million is for water and electricity. Whatever is left will be used as a revolving fund to pay staff that will be disengaged.

Apart from that, the governor has also directed OGROMA to construct the roads on all the campuses of the university. We are also in the process of reviewing the financial processes. Very soon we are going to embark on a head count to see if we have ghost workers among those who are claiming salaries every month. We want to see what actually is the staff strength of this university.

Again, we have secured the approval of the ETF (Education Trust Fund) for a N110million building which we are splitting into two classrooms; one at the permanent site in Ago Iwoye and the other one in Ikenne.

The chairman of council has just donated an e-library where students can access not less than 7 million books online. Quite a number of members of council are bringing in their friends to do one thing or the other for the university because these are very influential people. Apart from that, we found out that we have not less than 10 banks on campus, they are making money from the university and the students without putting anything back into the system. The council is planning a meeting with the management of the banks to discuss with them how they can be of assistance to the school.

The Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Sofola, has also been able to get an aid from the ETF to the tune of N40million to support our academic staff who want to do their PhD locally and abroad. We know that the reform will take us sometime but we are determined to see it through.

                                                       By  Sulaimon Olanrewaju

Strike: FG Offers ASUU 40% Salary Increase

THERE is no sign that the current indefinite industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will end soon as the Federal Government on Friday said it could only afford 40 per cent pay rise as against the 109 per cent demanded by the varsity teachers, among other things. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.

Also, indications emerged in Abuja on Friday that the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) may eventually join their colleagues in the indefinite strike action, as the union has rejected the Federal Government's offer of a paltry salary increase.

The position of the Federal Government was made known by the Chairman, FGN/ASUU Re-negotiation Team, Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, at a news conference held at the National Universities Commission (NUC), though ASUU boycotted the meeting with the Federal Government's negotiation team, where this final offer was to be made known to them.

With the new development, the Federal Government has asked ASUU to go back to finalise their agreements with their governing councils in line with the principles of university autonomy which the Federal Government announced earlier as part of the demands of the union.

Onosode explained that the provisional agreement reached between ASUU and the government's negotiation team for a salary increase for university lecturers was initially thought out as a way of curbing brain drain in the system but that did not go down well with the government considering the present economic realities.

He said the 40 per cent was what the government could pay and sustain and that the rest of the negotiations now should be held by the unions with their various institutions, pointing out that a bill was already before the National Assembly to amend the act of the Education Trust Fund (ETF) to take care of the issue of funding.

This, according to him, would allow the ETF to specifically focus on improving the university infrastructure and instructional facilities as well as staff development.

"Already, the issue of university autonomy and 70 years age of retirement have been granted," he said.

                        By Clement Idoko

Lautech concluded its Post Ume

Lautech Post Ume Screening was concluded earlier today and it was a stress free examination thanks to the proper management even though it clashed with the Poly Jamb. The when or time in which the result will be released is not yet ascertained.

N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.  

American varsity honours NAFDAC DG, Lawal

Arrangements have been concluded by Texas Southern University in the United States Of America (USA) to honour two of its significant alumni, Dr. Paul Orhii, Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Dr. Kase Lawal, the Chairman of CAMAC International Corporation. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.   In a statement from the Marketing and Communication office of the institution, the honour would be bestowed on these alumni for distinguishing themselves in their different professions. To this end, the President of the Texas University, John M. Rudley, along with the Provost, Sunny Ohia, and the University Advancement President, Wendy Adair, are due in Lagos and Abuja between July 10 and 13. The statement further said that the president, following the Nigeria visit, would extend his Africa stay to meet with government and university dignitaries in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The purpose of the tour, according to the statement, is to re-establish an active Alumni Chapter in Nigeria and in all the three countries to meet with government officials and university leaders to develop faculty and student exchanges, to provide information on graduate programmes for potential students, and to raise fund for scholarship for Texas southern students. The statement disclosed that Dr Kase Lawal received his under graduate degree in chemistry from the institution after which he established CAMAC International Corporation, a global energy services business that specializes in oil and gas exploration and production, crude oil and natural gas trading and in transportation. On the other hand, Dr. Paul Orhii is head of the Nigerian government agency responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, medical devices, chemicals and pre-packaged water. Dr. Orhii is a Russian trained doctor who has a Doctorate Degree in Neuro-Pharmacology and a Juris Doctor degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Lae at Texas Southern University.

Many poly lecturers unfit to teach -NBTE boss

The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Dr. Nuru Yakubu, has chided polytechnic lecturers in the country for lacking professional and pedagogical skills to effectively deliver. He said in Kaduna that a good number of the lecturers in the nation's polytechnics were not adequately experienced or equipped to teach. N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.      The NBTE boss spoke at the closing ceremony of the 2nd Instructional Materials Development workshop for new TVE curricula his organization organized in collaboration with UNESCO, Paris. He said some lecturers were new to the system, while others were simply not professionally trained for the challenges of teaching in higher technical institutions. According to him, "Most staff, old and new, require academic training to improve their capacities to deliver adequately, consistent review of curricular of polytechnics will add an impetus in developing capacity for both lecturers and students.  "Sound technical education along with advancement in both science and technology, these are foundation of development in all ramifications considering the globalization trend in the world."   "The board after developing the first set of curricula for TVE found out that books and publications that address issues raised by the curricula were in short supply while the few available ones were either imported and beyond the reach of most staff and students or not suitable for our local situation."  He therefore explained that the project had identified the crucial importance of developing books and publications locally and had to date produced relevant, effective and user-friendly e-books totalling about 350 in form of a simple, current, informative and professional guide to both teachers and students.    "In developing these materials, the board took cognisance of the pedagogical needs of lecturers to function effectively and the need to align content delivery with the ever changing world of knowledge and skills," he said. He added that, "Already, arrangements have been concluded by the UNESCO-BREDA, Dakar office and ECOWAS to host a sub-regional conference next month to, among others, take a look at the first ever comprehensive review of TVE curricula; leading to the review/development of 68 curricula by Nigeria.   "During the Phase 1, the project had brought about an upgrade and standardization of quality of contents of curricula with the inclusion of ICT and entrepreneurship courses in all programmes as well as successfully  entrenching a systematic staff development process in the sub-sector with the training of more than 9000 staff," he said. Dr. Hashim Abdulwahab, the UNESCO team lead consultant, said  on the occasion that the exercise was a great achievement that the nation should replicate in the entire education system.   He commended the nation's strides in the TVE sub sector, pointing out that other African countries had expressed the desire to adapt it in their countries.