News

Dons Seek Autonomy For Varsities In Nigeria, Others

Published

2 years ago

October 7, 2022

Some professors in the education sector have called for “true university autonomy” as one of the solutions to tackle the challenges facing higher education in Nigeria and other African countries.
According to a statement, yesterday, the experts made this known during an international symposium organised by the Okebukola Science Foundation in partnership with the National Universities Commission (NUC).
According to the statement, the experts agreed that African higher education was confronted with a host of grand challenges that must be tackled to ensure the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063.
“Over 160 higher education experts from 14 countries attended the virtual event organised by the Okebukola Science Foundation in partnership with the NUC Strategy Advisory Committee, the Africa Progress Group, the Office of the Association of African Universities’ Ambassador for West Africa, National Open University of Nigeria and the Virtual Institute for Capacity Building in Higher Education.
“Lead speakers at the symposium on the themed, “Grand Challenges Facing University Education in Africa: Taming the Dragon: were Professor Peter Okebukola (moderator); Professor Gibril Jaw, Executive Secretary, National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority of The Gambia; Professor Juma Shabani, Chairman, National Commission for Higher Education of Burundi; Professor Dr. Youhansen Eid, President, National Authority for Quality Assurance in Education of Egypt; Professor Emeritus Nimi Briggs, Chairman, Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities; Professor Elizabeth Sarange Abenga, Director of Pan African University Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences in Cameroon; Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General, Association of African Universities and an Australian”, the statement partly reads.
Speaking further in the statement, it was noted that the experts identified 12 great challenges affecting quality delivery of university education in Africa.
“These are the absence of true university autonomy; depreciating quality of higher education teachers; research capacity deficit; use of outdated teaching method and slow adoption of Information and Communications Technology for delivering quality university education; capacity deficit of quality assurance agencies.
“Infrastructural/facilities inadequacies; management inefficiencies; poor quality of entrants into higher education from the secondary level; curriculum irrelevance- academic programmes not aligned to labour market needs; weak regional integration and language barriers; absence of an African Credit Transfer Scheme – hindering comparability of certificates and diplomas, mobility; and poor welfare scheme leading to low morale and low motivation of university staff.
“Significant attention was paid in the discussions to proffer solutions to these challenges. The speakers and participants agreed that the solutions rest with all stakeholders and not shifting the burden to the government alone. They agreed that parents, students, teachers and other staff in the university, university managers, regulatory agencies, the private sector, the media, development partners, community leaders, religious leaders, political elites and actors, indeed all beneficiaries of the products of the university system have roles to play in taming the dragon of the challenges.
“Specifically, the participants called for the granting of true autonomy to universities which is driven by the universities being less dependent on government for funding; strengthening teaching and research capacity of academic staff through the implementation of intensive and sustained training programmes like those offered by the VICBHE; improved resourcing of facilities for teaching and research to ensure that African universities shift from being glorified secondary schools to matching their counterparts in the developed world; improving the relevance of the curriculum (curriculum re-engineering) to enable it produce nationally and regionally-relevant and globally competitive graduates; improving the delivery of basic education so that entrants into universities are of better quality; political commitment to regional integration for south-south collaboration; development of an African Credit Transfer Scheme speedy establishment of the Pan African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency and improvement in the welfare of university staff.”
The professors further stressed that there should be an increase in the sources of financial inflow into universities and that these should include the payment of tuition fees that were adjusted to the course of studies with bursaries and scholarships for indigent students.
“Furthermore, they urged that universities should be more proactive in exploring other avenues of securing funds that are open to higher educational institutions – grants, endowments, consultancies, research – and should reduce their over-dependence on government funding.
“Additionally, governments should hold universities to account to source for aspects of their funding requirements. Governments should allow university managements and governing councils to be totally responsible for the running of the affairs of universities, including hiring and firing of staff and the payment of differential salaries, where necessary, within clearly stipulated government guidelines.
“Public universities should be allowed to deploy their resources by themselves and as they deem fit to establish facilities for teaching, learning, research and innovation within their areas of interest, competence and specialisation.
“Lastly, participants were in agreement on the need to tighten the recruitment process, especially for the teaching staff so as to hire only bright and committed staff who should be appropriately remunerated to retain such staff and avoid brain drain”.

News

NASS commends FIRS for surpassing 2024 target, sets 2025 goal

Published

1 hour ago

January 17, 2025

The Tide

The National Assembly has lauded the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, for exceeding the 2024 revenue collection target of N19.4 trillion.

FIRS generated N21.6 trillion, surpassing the target by N2.2 trillion.

The commendation came during a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, where the FIRS chairman appeared before the joint committee on Finance to defend the service’s revenue projections for 2025.

The committee proposed a N25 trillion revenue generation target for FIRS in the coming fiscal year.

Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Saidu Abdullahi, was the first to commend Adedeji’s performance, calling it “unprecedented” and “worthy of commendation.”

“The feat achieved by FIRS in revenue collection for 2024 was unprecedented and truly commendable.

“Surpassing the target set for the agency in the 2024 Appropriation Act, from N19.4 trillion to N21.6 trillion, is both encouraging and impressive,” he said.

He encouraged the FIRS to study the tax collection methods of South Africa, which generated higher tax revenue, and to focus on expanding the taxable base to include more informal sector workers.

Sen. Joel Onowakpo emphasised that tax collection was a global norm, and advised the committee to raise FIRS’s projected 2025 revenue target to N30 trillion.

Similarly, Sen. Binos Yeroe lauded Adedeji’s innovative approach in surpassing the 2024 target.

“Your performance in 2024 was highly commendable, and I hope you continue to maintain this level of success,” he said.

Rep. Etanabene Benedict suggested aiming for N60 trillion in 2025 to avoid borrowing.

Committee chairmen also supported the proposed N25 trillion revenue goal for 2025; with Sen. Sani Musa stating that it was both “achievable and surpassable.”

News

Abbas, Kalu express grief over Deputy Chief Whip, Onanuga’s death

Published

1 hour ago

January 17, 2025

The Tide

Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has expressed deep grief over the demise of the Deputy Chief Whip of the house, Rep. Adewunmi Onanuga.

In a statement on yesterday, Abbas described the late lawmaker as a strong pillar who would be sorely missed in the house.

The Tide source reports that Onanuga, who died on Wednesday, represented Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency and was serving her second term in the house.

Abbas said that he had led members of the house in support and prayers for Onanuga during her health challenge and was hopeful of her recovery, saying that her eventual death was painful.

He recalled Onanuga’s campaigns for gender equality, women empowerment and inclusion in politics and governance, as Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Welfare in the Ninth House and as a principal officer in the 10th House.

Abbas also recalled how the late lawmaker, as the only female member in the leadership of the house, inspired and rallied female legislators for the greater good of the chamber and the country in general.

“Onanuga was a brilliant woman, experienced politician, resourceful lawmaker and a dependable ally in the legislative business,” he said.

Abbas commiserated with the Onanuga family and her constituents, the people and the government of Ogun as well as the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the demise of the legislator.

Also, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, expressed sadness over Onanuga’s death.

Kalu described the deceased as a shining example of dedication, compassion and selfless lawmaker whose service to her constituents and the nation was outstanding.

He acknowledged her support for the Peace In South East Project (PISE-P), which demonstrated her passion for defeating insecurity in Nigeria.

“Onanuga was a dedicated and committed lawmaker, renowned for her unwavering commitment to peace.

“Her passion for promoting harmony and understanding was truly commendable. Beyond her legislative accomplishments, Onanuga’s compassion, humility and simplicity inspired countless individuals.

“Her warm and infectious smile, coupled with her empathetic nature, endeared her to everyone she met, making her a beloved figure in the lives of many,” he said.

Kalu said that Onanuga would be remembered for her commitment to the cause of women’s empowerment and political inclusion as well as her relentless efforts toward ensuring that the gender bills were passed.

The deputy speaker extended his heartfelt condolences to the Onanuga family, her colleagues and constituents, saying that she would be greatly missed.

He prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the late lawmaker and the fortitude to bear the loss.

News

Rotary Foundation commits $300m to polio eradication in Nigeria

Published

2 hours ago

January 17, 2025

The Tide

The Rotary International Foundation says it has committed over 300 million dollars to polio eradication in Nigeria.

Its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mark Maloney, disclosed this on Thursday while conducting polio immunisation at a Primary Healthcare Centre in Jahi, Abuja.

According to him, polio eradication is Rotary’s number one priority worldwide and it is focused on eradicating the variant type two poliovirus cases discovered in 2024.

Maloney said efforts towards eradicating the polio variant should be intensified, adding that recording success in that area would be beneficial to the Nigerian government.

He also commended the Federal Government’s polio accountability programme as well as all Rotarians for their efforts in putting an end to the disease.

“The Nigerian government is facing a significant challenge with the continuation of variant polio type two, and so far, we have seen about 92 cases through the cases that have been evaluated in 2024.

“We encourage the government to redouble their efforts to put the focus on this polio eradication as they did with the Wild Polio Virus (WPV), and they were successful.”

On new donations to Nigeria, Maloney said that Rotary would allocate some funds in 2025, but the amount was yet to be determined.

“There are 50 million dollars that I expect will be allocated, but a lot of it has to go to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where WPV is still endemic.

“Though, I think there will be a significant tranche of funds, maybe not tens of millions, but a significant amount of money will be allocated to Nigeria,” he added.

The chairman noted that the organisation has allocated two million dollars to its Programme of Scale project aimed at reducing the rate of birth-related mortality in Nigeria.

“What we are looking to do is to decrease the rate of mortality in births in this country, and it is operating now in several districts.

“One way that the mortality rate can be decreased is for more births to happen in a healthcare facility rather than at home.

“We have seen in the first year of the programme a significant increase in the percentages of births happening in medical facilities.

“One district had gone from 11 per cent happening in medical facilities to 33 per cent, which is a significant increase,” he added.

The Chairman of the organisation’s Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee, Mr Joshua Hassan, said outbreak immunisation efforts are conducted locally in response to the vaccine-derived variant of polio.

Hassan said national immunisation days are planned twice a year for the entire country.

According to him, the organisation is focusing more of its efforts on Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto states.

Prof. Emmanuel Lufadeju, the National Coordinator of Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, said that the Programme of Scale project was designed to reduce maternal mortality among women by 25 per cent.

Lufadeju said that this is done through community dialogue, home outreaches, medical outreaches, and capacity building.

“We are going to train a lot of people, including doctors and nurses.

“Then we are going to do something that is called a social, behavioural change, to change the attitude of people and make them deliver in the facility instead of delivering at home.”

He added that the two million dollar project, which began in 2024, is expected to end in 2025.

The Tide source reports that Maloney is in Nigeria for an official visit to embark on advocacy, carry out symbolic immunisation, visit the Programme of Scale project areas, and also visit President Bola Tinubu.