The acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, has identified a poor governance system, academic corruption and inadequate funding as some of the challenges confronting Nigerian universities.
He spoke while delivering the 2024 Registry at Babcock University in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
The lecture was tagged “The Role of the Administrator in a Changing University Environment: Issues and Prospects.”
Going down memory lane, Maiyaki noted that Nigeria’s university system had in the last three decades experienced a decline compared to preceding decades when remarkable achievements were recorded.
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The NUC Boss said in the past, Nigerian graduates were reputed both nationally and globally, lamenting that fortunes of the Nigerian universities had been on the decline due to inadequate funding, social vices, shortage of manpower, economic pressure and industrial action.
“We had our glorious years but then we had the downturn and there are a lot of factors, economic pressure, gradual decline in funding, value of the naira in real terms is no longer enough and some of these are also attributed to poor governance systems and also sometimes the broken family system.
“We need more PhDs. We need to stabilize; the system has suffered a lot of instability due to a combination of factors. We need sustained constant funding,” he said.
He challenged administrators to revolutionize institutions by embracing technology and the potential of artificial intelligence, saying “the success of any institution is its effective administration and governance.”
Maiyaki also urged administrators to broaden their focus and cultivate strong relationships with external stakeholders in order to contribute to the development of an effective system that supports long-term growth and excellence in higher education.
“Funding issues, governance issues, curriculum and that is why we are proud as a university that we recently re-engineered our curricula with critical stakeholders to bring it to speed.
“I appeal to Babcock university and all other Nigerian universities to continue to work with the commission to forge ahead towards creating a future in which higher education values are defined by excellence, equity and global competence. We must continue to search for a way out as giving up is not an option,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ademola Tayo, explained that the lecture was an opportunity to exchange ideas in a friendly and non-threatening manner while at the same time broadening the horizons of practitioners, scholars and administrators.
“This lecture serves as a platform where key issues about our university system are raised and interrogated. It will stimulate all of us to do our best for our dear Nigeria”, Tayo said.
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