The Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has disclosed that granting full autonomy to universities comes with accountability and responsibility for sustainable development.
Oloyede, who stated this while delivering a lecture in honour of Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, in commemoration of his retirement from service, said it is in the interest of every nation to protect both academic freedom and institutional autonomy in the universities for improved productivity in research and innovation.
In his lecture titled: “Institutional autonomy, accountability and the quest for efficient governance of Nigerian universities,” the JAMB boss said critical questions must be asked on how the institutions have been able to utilise the money given to them in the interest of the country’s education and economic development.
He said: “Universities must know that they have the responsibility of quality teaching, research, and community service, as well as proffering solutions to critical national issues and being accountable to government.”
The JAMB boss urged the government and the institutions to enumerate their responsibilities to one another, instead of undue emphasis on rights.
According to him, this would facilitate their genuine understanding and management of expectations.
He noted that in some African countries like Ghana and Kenya, visitation panels are constituted by the universities themselves for review and improvement in service delivery and accountability.
He maintained that if annual reports and community service are efficiently deployed, it would assure the institutions’ commitment to high ethical standards and excellence.
In his valedictory lecture titled: “The role of tertiary institutions in nation building: My UNN experience,” Ozumba said countries doing well prioritised learning by providing their citizens with cheap, qualitative, and accessible education.
He reminded all that the greatest asset to nation-building is human capital development, which can only be achieved through education.
Ozumba urged the government to make adequate provision for effective funding of education in its budgetary allocations.
“Government should allocate 26 per cent to education as recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It can decide to adopt all our innovation templates and leadership style, which repositioned UNN as a towering centre of learning and skills development centre,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Age, described the lecture as topical, considering that the issue of university autonomy is one of the most controversial policies in the country.
Igwe said the former VC recorded many successes during his tenure and the university would remain grateful to him.
