Prof Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has warned tertiary institutions, especially universities, to stop admission of underaged persons, describing the development as “illegal”.
He said that illegal admission, such as admitting underaged,
should be stopped.
Oloyede made the assertion at the opening of the seventh
biennial conference of Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities
in Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.
The theme of the conference was ‘Effective University Governance:
Role of Stakeholders’.
He said that for the sake of accountability, data protection
and integrity of the nation, this act needed to stop because anything that was
irregular was illegal..
“About two months ago, I received a letter from an European
country to confirm if a student actually graduated from a particular university
because she is 15 years old and applied for postgraduate course.
“They question they asked me is “Is this possible in
Nigeria.
“I had to call the Vice Chancellor of the institution and he
confirmed the student graduated from the university but was not admitted by
JAMB.
“He had to include that he was not the VC at the time the
student was admitted,” Oloyede said.
He noted that state owned universities must do a lot on this
situation because they constituted more in number than federal universities.
“Also illegal admission of diploma students needs to stop
because last year, we admitted 9,000 diploma students; I was alarmed that about
3,000 students came from a particular university.
“Everyone of us should be accountable because all these acts
can damage our education system,” Oloyede said.
Prof Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the President
urged the pro-chancellors to make plan of action on how they could make their
institutions as competent and attractive as federal and private universities.
Gambari said that by so doing, it ensured that they were
able to retain some of the best faculty and staff which attracted the best in
the pool of eligible students.
“State owned universities must explore how best to carve out
specific niches which inevitably place them in a position to exploit
corresponding comparative advantages that enhance their position.
“Successfully executing this , a foundation for brand
creation and recognition is ascertained,” he said.
Senator Joshua Lidani, Chairman of COPSUN, said that the
theme encompassed many issues that had to do with governance in the university
system.
Lidani, Pro-Chancellor, Gombe State University, said that
currently there were several challenges bedevilling the university system and
tertiary education generally.
“Some of these challenges include: corrupt practices,
impersonation, miracle exam centres, inadequate funding, proliferation of
universities.
“Others were discriminate and premature dissolution of
governing councils and boards of tertiary educational institutions and delay in
reconstituting them,” he said.
Lidani added that apart from the illegality of these acts, a
huge vacuum was usually left in the administration of the institution leading
to all kinds of anomalies.
“Incessant strike action by ASUU and other labour unions and
the attendant consequences in stability, quality and standards.
“These are definitely not exhaustive but are symptomatic of
the deep malaise that is affecting the system and extent of the problem.
“Of course, this conference alone will not be able to
address the problem but it can raise public consciousness and alarm at the
threat posed to good governance, standards and quality in the tertiary
educational system.
“I have no doubt that the conference can point the way
forward and advise on the way stakeholders can play a better and rightful role
in uplifting the standards of education in the country,” he said. (NAN)
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