Introduction:
The 29th Annual conference of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities was successfully hosted and held in Afe Babalola University, (ABUAD), Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State from 1st June to 5th June, 2014. The theme of the Annual conference was “Pathways to Sustainable Education in Nigeria”.
Overview:
The 5-day conference had the presence of about 60 University Vice-Chancellors, their representatives and other University officers from the Federal, State and Private Universities. The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission presided over the opening ceremony and technical sessions while the Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN delivered a well-articulated keynote address. Four technical sessions were held and participants included Vice-Chancellors and ABUAD academic staff. The conference also extolled the manifestation of Afe Babalola University, which aims to become a pace-setter dedicated to the promotion of sustainable academic excellence and committed to reversing falling standards in the quality of education that now undermine the integrity of University education in Nigeria.
Presentations and discussions:
The Ag. Vice-Chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. M.O. Ajisafe, gave the welcome address where he thanked the AVCNU for granting the University the hosting rights of the 29th edition of the Annual Conference and wished the participants a fruitful deliberation, while Chairman of AVCNU, Prof. Joseph A. Ajienka, in his opening address highlighted the need for sustainable development of the University system and society.
This was immediately followed by the Keynote Address by the Founder and President of ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola SAN. In his keynote address, the Founder explicated the significance of sustainable development as a means of stimulating change in the way educational policies are formulated.
The first technical paper was presented by Mr. Jeffrey J. Hawkins, the American Consul-General to Nigeria ably represented by Dehab Ghebreab, Public Affairs Officer from the American Embassy. The title of the paper was ‘The American Experience of Sustainable Education’. The second paper was delivered by Professor Peter Okebukola, OFR, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Crawford University and former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission. The title of his paper was on “Ten Pathways to Bolstering Quality in the Delivery of University Education in Nigeria”.
He suggested that if we walk along the ten paths, leveraged with ample political will, Nigeria will be well on a sustainable course of deriving maximum benefit from the power of quality university education for development.
The Third Lecturer, Professor government.
Ibikunle Hakeem Tijani, centered his topic on ‘The Vice Chancellor, World Ranking, and Reformative Education in Nigeria: Roles, Challenges, and Prospects” while the Fourth Lecture, titled, ‘Re-Investing in the Nigerian Youth for Socio-Economic Development.’ was presented by Dr. A. Jhalil Balewa, who elaborated on the quality and level of accessibility to education and its proportionality to a nation’s economic productivity and real growth. ess to Institutes like IITA in Ibadan.
Comments and suggestions:
Participants noted the following challenges associated with teaching and learning in Nigerian universities.
Lack of an enabling environment prevailing in the classroom undermines both teaching and learning in most universities.
Inadequate funding of the educationsector.
Low morale among academic staff and poor research culture as a major factor for the low ranking of Nigerian universities by the global ranking bodies.
Academic curricula in many Nigerian universities have become inadequate and sometimes irrelevant in grooming professionals for the nation’s public and private enterprise.
Academic staff in many Nigerian Universities lack the exposure to novel teaching tools and methodologies critical to fostering knowledge generations, storage and dispersion.
The need for all stakeholders to support the government.
There should be a nexus between industries and Universities.
Recommendations and conclusions:
The main recommendations and conclusions arising from the sessions and the final deliberations are as follows:
1. Participants expressed serious concern about the deteriorating standards in the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria due to inadequate funding, fund utilization and poor infrastructural facilities. There must also be a stakeholder’s summit to address the worrisome deterioration in the standard of education in Nigeria. Nigerian universities are urged to allocate more resources for funding of research and the opportunities for academic staff to attend both national and international conferences critical to fine-tuning their skills and knowledge, as well as building their capacity to engage in cutting-edge research.
2. The Higher School Certificate (HSC) which is equivalent to GCE Advanced Level in England should be re-introduced and made the requisite entry qualification to Universities thereby ensuring that only mature students are admitted to Universities.
3. There must be a positive change of attitude to work by teachers in both public and private Universities, especially in the areas of commitment to work, dedication to duties, integrity, punctuality and strict discipline.
4. There should be the need to amend the Constitution on the areas of establishment of Universities. There should be a clear evidence of adequate structures and facilities including modern teaching aids before NUC approves such Universities.
5. There must be an effective Public-Private partnership aimed at mobilizing resources to drive academic and research activities in Nigerian universities.
6. The Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities must Institute a Vice-Chancellor’s Peer-Review Mechanism to enhance quality research and service delivery.
7. The Association must develop a position paper, not just a communiqué on “Pathways to Sustainable Education in Nigeria”. Make public presentation of the publication and send to the Presidency and the National Assembly
Appreciation:
The AVCNU congratulated ABUAD as one of the fastest growing private Universities with a rich endowment in ABUAD farms and Agribusiness and its Founder and President of ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN for the pursuit of his vision to reality.
Signed
Prof. Joseph Ajienka
Chairman, AVCNU