Firstclass newsline gathered that the authorities of the Adeniran
Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, on Thursday said
that Nigeria's tertiary institutions could not scale through
international rating because of their irregular academic calendars. Mr
Wasiu Bashorun, the Provost, AOCOED, Ijanikin, told newsmen in Lagos,
on the sidelines of the send forth for the college's former registrar,
Mr Bola Disu.
A Cross Section of Final Year Students
"If you look at the institutions of higher learning in the country,
students' union leaders, the authorities and government are all
getting it wrong.
"Each and everyone of us is supposed to know the rules and guidelines
of our institutions. "So, what I am talking about now is that we need
to know the dictates, rules, ethics and confines of the institution,
and work within them.
"And these are parts of the problems we have been having in our
tertiary institutions, not necessarily AOCOED, because I can speak of
tertiary institutions in Lagos State. "The union leaders do not know
their limits, and the school authorities are not forceful enough in
enforcing them.
"It took me a long time to realise that beyond AOCOED, it is high time
that the government supports the school authorities in
decision-making.
"Especially decisions to ensure that academic activities are not
disrupted as a result of unionism, students' unrest and so on.
"This is the most obvious reason for the irregular academic calendar,
and we need to ensure that it is limited,'' the provost said. He said,
however, that anyone who had gone beyond his or her confines to
contribute meaningfully to the development of the society should be
appreciated and rewarded. According to him, Disu contributed
meaningfully to the growth of the institution and put in over two
decades of meritorious service to the institution.
He said that just as people were being rewarded for meritorious
service, so also should there be sanctions on defaulters, to strike a
balance.
Disu said on the occasion that those personnel in the tertiary
institutions, whether as a vice-chancellor, provost, lecturer or
student, all had sacrosanct duties to perform. "It is must be done to
the best of our abilities, because it is not by chance that we were
given the opportunities.
"We have to mould the children, the future of the country; we cannot
afford to toy with them, we must put in our best,'' he said.
Disu said that the incoming government had been given a historic duty
to perform, and should give education a priority. "Education is not an
industry to be treated like any other industry. "As far back as the
`50s and `60s, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the defunct Western
Region put 50 per cent of the budgetary allocation into education. "If
today we are celebrating 10, eight or 13 per cent of the budgetary
allocation to education, then we need to do more.
"UNESCO has said 26 per cent; but for us in the tertiary
institutions, it should be more than that. "Because if you get it
right in education, you get it right in any other sector. But if you
get it wrong in education, then forget about other sectors. "The new
government must endeavour to systematically increase the budgetary
allocation in education,'' the former registrar said. According to
him, education is expensive and may not get the result in a short
while, but will definitely reap a good fruit.
"A Yoruba adage says that if you build bridges and structures and you
do not build children, the children will grow up to destroy the
bridges and structures,'' he said. Disu, however, chastised the school
authorities on how they utilised their allocations. "It is now left
for us in the industry to be mindful of how we spend the allocation.
"To whom much is given, much is expected; so, whether a
vice-chancellor, provost, registrar, please ensure you carry out your
duty because it is a sacred duty,'' he said.
The former registrar said that with good education, there will be no
terrorist attacks. "Our children in the North-East will realise that
they have a stake in the country; thus the need for their protection,"
Disu added.

Source~> http://www.firstclassnewsline.net/2015/05/wasiu-bashorunprovost-of-aocoedsays.html

True talk