Proliferation of first class graduates worries professor emeritus

Professor of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Sylvester Ibe, is worried over the large number of first class graduates churned out by Nigerian universities yearly, despite the poor quality of academic staff in some of those schools.

Ibe, who retired at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, stated this while delivering the first Valedictory Lecture of the university entitled ‘The Path To Excellence In The University: Stories That Made The Headlines’ organised by the institution to mark his formal retirement after spending 47 in the ivory tower.

The septuagenarian had spent four years as undergraduate and 43 years as staff the institution formerly known as Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike.

He cited a university that had 215 first class students out of 1,580 graduates at its 2018/2019 convocation.

The don graduated with first class degree in Animal Science from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in 1975 and obtained a Ph.D from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States of America, described the scenario as “a gross violation of the normal distribution characteristics of such attributes”.

According to him, the situation contrasts with the classification of degree results in many Nigerian universities in the 1970s and early 80s.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Francis Otunta, announced Ibe as the first professor emeritus of the university and his engagement for the next five years, lauding his rich contribution to learning.

At the event, which featured the presentation of his book, Statistical Methods in Genetics and Animal Breeding’, Ibe enumerated five problems of achieving excellence in education in Nigeria.

The problems are existing lacunas, which he stated cast some slur on the entire education system from the bottom to the top. They include compromised quality of teachers, lack of quality assurance, examination malpractices, industrial actions, poor motivation and irregular salary payments.

Others were inadequate funding lack of political will, corruption and appointment of inept education ministers and commissioners.