Nigerian Universities have bright future-Vice Chancellor

Professor Ishaq Oloyede
Vice Chancellor

Nigerian Universities have bright future-Vice Chancellor
By Temitope Mustapha, Abuja

The Chairman of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities and the out-going Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, says universities in the country are performing very well, contrary to what people think.

Speaking at the 2012 strategic planning workshop, organised by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for benefitting institutions, Professor Oloyede said with autonomy, responsibility, good leadership and sustainable efforts towards deliberate change, the sky was the limit for the Nigerian university systems.

He said: “And I am in position to know that graduates of Nigerian University systems are performing well all over the world. This is a truth that can be verified.”

Challenges
Professor Oloyede however, admitted that there were a few challenges of governance. But he said these were not in-surmountable.

"There have been abberations, which have been corrected by the system itself."

He enumerated some of the critical factors that Nigerian universities have to deal with to include mentoring, governance and internalisation.

Ranking
These, he said, play against Nigerian Universities on the Webometric world ranking table.

“Most of the ranking factors are beyond the institutions. Our Government does not rank well in the world, our politics does not rank well, even our security does not rank well in the world. Still, I believe it is not right for anyone to think that Nigeria Universities are not ranking well.”

Professor Oloyede stressed that Education was just one element among other factors, deficiencies and defects that needed to be corrected in the country.

“As much as a university would want to bring people from all over the world, insecurity is a critical factor to be considered. In some of the countries where universities are ranking well, municipal services are provided by government for those universities.”

“A Vice Chancellor in the UK would not disturb himself about roads, water and electricity. These are municipal services provided by the governmnet.
Whereas in Nigeria, we have the added burden of ineffective governance to the burden of governing our universities.” He said.

New strategy
Professor Oloyede also recommended that some Nigerian universities should be made to shift attentions towards doctoral programmes and post-graduate studies.

This, he said, was preferable and more sustainable to having all the universities conducting trainning for under-graduates.

Hajia Sani