The Vice-Chancellor of Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Prof. Anthony Akinwale, has urged governments at all levels to reduce the size of their workforce and channel the savings into education and other social services.
Akinwale, who stated this while addressing reporters on the activities lined up to mark the university’s 10th anniversary and convocation ceremony, noted that building a nation requires building the education sector, which requires significant funding.
He lamented that the government is not adequately funding public universities, which has grave consequences for society.
“If we want to build our country, we must be ready to build the education sector,” he said.
Akinwale emphasised that education stands on three legs: intellectual formation, technical and ethical formation.
He stressed that none of these can be ignored, as they all contribute to a total and complete learning experience.
“If one is missing, the others cannot stand properly, and that will have a negative impact on society,” he noted.
He attributed the high level of moral decadence in the country to several factors and suggested that education should have both ethical intent and content.
He also decried the non-supportive nature of the government to private universities, citing neglect by government agencies such as TETFund and the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Akinwale faulted claims that Nigeria has more universities than needed, and called for the establishment of more institutions to provide higher education for the teeming youth population.
He also frowned upon the centralisation of admission into higher institutions by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), calling for a system where each institution would admit students independently.
The university is set to award degrees to 148 students and diplomas to 21 others. Twenty-two students are graduating with First Class degrees, with Ann Adeyera of the Department of Chemical Sciences emerging as the Best Graduating student with a cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.90.
