Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria, have called on the vice-chancellors of state universities to be more proactive in seeking alternative sources of revenue to supplement government funding.
The pro-chancellors said by so doing, the vice-chancellors of state universities would be creating a niche for themselves as the masters of the development of tertiary institutions in the country.
Their call came as they appealed to state governors to improve the funding of state-owned universities for enhanced quality teaching and learning in the institutions.
The pro-chancellors operating under the aegis of Committee of Pro-chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria,COPSUN,lamented the poor funding of the state universities.
COPSUN, in a communiqué it issued at the end of its 62nd quarterly meeting held on December 19 in Abuja, said there was the urgent need for state universities to begin to look for ways of generating internal revenues.
The development,no doubt,has begun to cause panick in the minds of students and parents as they fear that it would ultimately lead to fee increment in state universities.
The pro-chancellors said by virtue of their closeness to the grassroots, the state universities have a better understanding of how to contribute to the social, economic, and technological advancement of the people and should be given priority in terms of funding by state governors.
The communique signed by COPSUN Secretary,Marcus Awobifa and released to newsmen in Abuja, explained that the meeting discussed important issues pertaining to the growth and development of state-owned universities and tertiary education in Nigeria.
According to the communiqué, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of Gombe State University, Senator Joshua Lidani, was elected as the new chairman of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria.
Senator Joshua Lidani, who was a former Deputy Governor of Gombe State and former Senator for the Gombe South constituency of Gombe State, replaces Yusuf Ali, SAN, who bowed out of COPSUN following the dissolution of the Governing Council of Osun State University, where he was the Pro-Chancellor.
Prof. Ayodeji Omole, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, became the Vice Chairman at the election, while the Pro-Chancellors of Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Prof. R.B. Ikomi; Lagos State University of Education, Ijanikin; Alhaja Sakeenat Yusuf; and Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Dr. Hahiru Bala, were elected members of the new executive council, respectively.
Speaking on mass exodus of Nigerians out of the country, COPSUN observed that the brain drain syndrome has taken a huge toll on the university system in Nigeria, with many lecturers seeking greener pastures abroad.
The Pro-Chancellors, therefore, called on the Federal Government to declare the development a matter of national concern deserving an urgent solution.
“The Committee reiterated the importance of university autonomy and called on the state governments to uphold the principle of autonomy and emulate the federal government, where the appointment of vice-chancellors ends with the governing council of individual federal universities.
“The Pro-Chancellors added that the State Universities Governing Councils should be given free hands to determine the school fees of their various universities, having regard to the modern economic realities in the country,” it said.
Source: Vanguard
