The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Abuja, Prof. Ahmed Modibbo has advocated innovative ways of enhancing additional funding to support the university’s system through foreign grants.
Modibbo, who disclosed this in Abuja at 9th Retreat organised by the Governing Council of the university, said attraction of endowment support from philanthropists would also go a long way in funding the university system.
The event was organised for Principal Officers, Deans and Directors and University-Based Unions of the University to synergise all efforts of various organisation of the university to clear gray areas affecting the system.
It has the theme: “ Navigating Myriad of Challenges in Managing Universities in Today’s World.
Modibbo explained that the university of Abuja was making efforts to also partner a lot of international organisations and foreign universities on alternative funding for the university.
According to him, almost every week, we have one ambassador or the other visiting the university. They have selected the university of Abuja to pilot some of the collaborations.
“The University of Abuja is making efforts to partner with a lot of international organisations, a lot of foreign countries, oversees universities.
“Almost every week, we have one ambassador or the other visiting the university. They have selected the university of Abuja to pilot some of the collaborations they want to do with not only Nigerian university but the Nigerian government.
“For instance, the Netherland government want to establish a diary research centre and we will find it useful for faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture where they will establish and promote research into veterinary challenges, into milk production, research into agriculture from China, from Netherlands so that they will now use our students .
“ We get grants from these countries to establish these centres and also train students so that our graduates will be skilled inclined, entrepreneur so that they become self reliant, self employed rather than relying on government. So we are taking a lot of support from the international organisation,“ he said.
On sexual harassment in the university system, Modibbo emphasised that those could culpable would henceforth be sanctions accordingly irrespective of how highly placed the culprit may be.
He added that over 10 cases of such had been transferred to the university’s disciplinary committee and persons found guilty would be brought to book.
“ Once somebody breeches the rules and regulations, they must be sanctioned no matter highly placed. Whether it is sexual harassment, examination malpractices or extortion from students in one way or the other.
“ We have so many cases now being investigated and we have referred over 10 cases of staff indiscipline, including professors to the university disciplinary committee.
“ There are procedures, that have to first of all be established, investigated, reported to the council and the council passed to the disciplinary committee.
“ I can assure you that in the next couple of months, you will begin to see changes in the was we approach things in the university,” he added.
Also, on the recent kidnapping of some staff of the university, he said that the university had enhanced its security by mounting 24-hours security patrol both within the school premises and around the perimeters of the school.
He said the school had also provided additional hunters and vigilante group to patrol the premises of the school not fenced.
The pro-chancellor, therefore, promised to collaborate with investors to give the university staff quarters a facelift.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, said the university must be proactive to address the challenges they were faced with.
Echono challenged participants at the event not to always depend on government budget to run the university but look inward for alternative funding to keep the university going.
He further said that in the face of dwindling funding, unproductive courses not meant to be offered in our universities system need to be removed.
“ On University sustainable funding, I am of a very strong view that as long as we depend on government budget to run our university, our expectations from the budget will continue to remain a problem.
“I would prefer we go to the old tradition of bottom-up based approach on the actual need of the and that funding will be such that is determined by cost.
“ You go to the system where you determine what it takes a year for a student in a particular course of study and what it takes to produce a student over the course and every stakeholder should partake in it.
“ We should adopt a grant system that will enable the university to practice what it preaches about autonomy and it will enable the governing council to operate on the strength of their balance sheet, that way you can eliminate some very unproductive programmes from the university.
“ You don’t need to have every university in this country offering courses in certain course area where you now have more lecturers than students across our university and at the end of the day add up to the wage bill,” he said. (NAN)
