By Ayodele Abere
The autonomy of tertiary institutions to conduct and manage their academic activities within the established regulatory framework would enable the institutions to strive for high quality and standards that would ensure their competitiveness.
This was stated by the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Architect Sonny Sylva Echono while delivering the 9th Convocation lecture of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) titled; “University Autonomy and the Challenge of Quality Tertiary Education in Nigeria “ held at the 1,000-seater Auditorium of the Institution in Oye-Ekiti on Saturday.
Echono who explained that the subsisting government policy on autonomy for universities in Nigeria which allows freedom of universities to govern themselves, appoint their key officers, determine the conditions of service of their staff, control student admissions and academic curricula, control their finances, and generally regulate themselves as independent legal entities without undue interference from the Federal Government and its agencies, said should never be construed to absolve the government of it responsibility to fund universities.
He however maintained that autonomy enables universities to enhance their infrastructure network using collaboration with industries, alumni and other educational and research institutions.
Addressing the gathering, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, said convocation is more than an occasion for the mere conferment of degrees, saying it’s a significant rite of passage and a testament to the quality of education and training they have received in the course of their studies at the University.
Senator Ndoma-Egba advised the graduates to uphold integrity as a guiding principle in all their endeavours saying that integrity serves as the foundation of trust.
In light of the significant financial challenges being faced by the universities, the Pro-Chancellor noted that it’s imperative for the Federal Government to introduce and implement other targeted economic concessions that would elevate the academic institutions to a globally competitive standard.
In response to FUOYE’s rapid growth, occasioned by a significant increase in student enrolment, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina said his administration has introduced several new academic programmes over the past four years which according to him, reflect the University’s commitment to meeting emerging educational needs and expanding its academic offerings.
Fasina said FUOYE has demonstrated exceptional performance in the area of accreditation, with visiting teams consistently praising the sense of purpose, unity, cordiality and dedication evident across Departments and Faculties.
“I am pleased to report that, under this administration, the University has successfully undergone 60 accreditation exercises, all of which have resulted in positive outcomes. None of the exercises has been denied accreditation.
‘I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Heads of Departments and Deans of Faculties for their unwavering commitment, proactive efforts, and relentless spirit which have been instrumental in achieving the success”. The Vice-Chancellor said.
In a separate interview with newsmen, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Adebayo Ojo, who was one of the eminent Nigerians honoured at the occasion described the honour as a recognition of the little contribution he has made to the country.
Thanking God for the honour, the former NBA President said. it’s a thing of joy to be honoured and appreciated.
Speaking on funding of the universities, Chief Adebayo Ojo remarked that the government has taken a good step with the NELFUND Students Loan Scheme which he knew existed in the 70s and 80s.
In his word, “a lot of people who are educated today did so because of the access they had to the students loan. It’s a good step that the President has taken. It’s is appreciated. I thank him for it. FUOYE has benefited from it”.
However, he admonished the Federal Government to give more allocation to the Ministry of Education and also the various universities saying the future lies in those universities in terms of Research and Development (R & D)
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema, said he was privileged to be part of the people honoured which he said it’s a challenge for him to do more of what he was doing lthat earned him the recognition.
He opined that education should not be left in the hand of government alone, urging the private sector to be involved as he described education as part of human rights which according to him is suicidal depriving anyone of it.
Meanwhile, the former Senator, Mr. Ayo Arise, said he was very proud of what the university has achieved in a very short period, adding that the calibre of the people honoured at the event was a testament to what should be expected from Senator Ndoma-Egba noting that he always goes for the best.
Arise used the occasion to extend his profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for blessing Ekiti State with another Federal University at Iyin-Ekiti.
The former Senator said, the President knows that education is the only commodity that Ekiti trades in. He therefore appealed to all Ekiti indigenes to continue to embrace education.
“Without the solid education, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. It’s the best thing that can happen to us from the President apart from the fact that he has honoured Ekiti in terms of appointments. We are very grateful to him”. Ayo Arise said.
