The Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris J. Maiyaki, has charged the newly-inaugurated Governing Councils of 51 out of the 62 federal universities in the country to work assiduously and ensure that they turned around the fortunes of their various institutions.
This, he said, was the basis for their appointments by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.
He gave the charge in his keynote address at the opening of the One-Day retreat organised for the Pro-Chancellors/ Chairmen and members of the Councils to acquaint them with the rudiments of the task ahead of them as co-managers of the Universities.
He congratulated them for accepting to offer service to the nation at this auspicious time, having become statesmen in their own rights with great experience in service and pedigree.
He singled out the likes of former Head of Service, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Governors, technocrats and teachers, as well as Lawmakers, both at the national and state levels, as men of timbre and calibre with experience on valuable insight for the growth of Nigerian Universities.
He said that their roles in the management of the universities remained very crucial and germane in resource allocation, giving a hypothetical example of were government decides to give a 50billion Naira allocation say to a University like Lagos.
He queried what would happen to such funds without a proper management structure and governance system.
Mr Maiyaki who had earlier frowned at the decline in the conduct of Ceremonies and special events at the universities reiterated during the Retreat that NUC would work with relevant stakeholders in order to establish the Minimum guidelines for the conduct of Ceremonies in the nation’s Universities.
He expressed deep concern about the qualitative decline in the conduct of ceremonies and special inaugural lectures which until this denigration hitherto constitute the hallmark of a university and the tertiary education system.
The Acting Executive Secretary lamented that unique occasions such as the Matriculation, Convocation and the Lectures that traditionally precede them as well as lnaugural Lectures, Distinguished Lectures, among others, have not only declined in quality, but have also lost the aura for which they were once known and cherished, because of the adoption of alien and unsavoury local mismatches.
He stated that, there was an urgent need to enthrone a legacy of good governance values, principles, standards and best practices in the nation’s institutions of higher learning. He called on the Governing Councils to demonstrate good leadership and stewardship towards the growth of their institutions.
In a technical paper entitled: “Roles and Responsibilities of Governing Councils: Navigating Expectations and Limitations”, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Professor Muhammad Yahuza Bello stated that the functions of the Councils of each university were stated in the Law establishing the university.
He noted that there are lots of similarities in the laws establishing the various federal universities, with the laws of the seven second generation federal universities (the seven sisters), established in 1975, have served as templates for the laws of other subsequent federal universities.
He said, the functions of Councils specified in the individual university laws were further explained, and provided for in the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 and its various amendments (in 1996, 2003 and 2012).
Professor Bello mentioned that Section 7 of the University Act defines the functions of Council and very clearly indicate from the sub-section (1) that the Council is responsible for the general control and superintendence of the policy, finances, and properties of the University.
He explained that, in terms of policy, Council is responsible for policy formulation as well as ensuring policy implementation by the Vice-Chancellor and his/her management team, stressing that being a public institutions, funded mainly with public funds, federal universities are accountable to the public and to the Government.
He said Council’s role as the general superintendence is for accountability by Management through the Council that serves as a representative of the public and of the Government, pointing out that the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment Act) 2003 gives autonomy to Council.
He informed the Councils that in the discharge of its functions, they shall ensure that disbursement of funds of the University complies with the approved budgetary ratios for: Personnel cost: Overhead cost; Research and development; Library developments; and the balance in expenditure between academic vis-a-vis non-academic activities.
The Former Vice-Chancellor pointed out that the financial role of Council is ensuring prudence and accountability by Management as well as resource mobilization, while also serving as the employer of all staff members of the University -including the Vice-Chancellor -as provided for in Sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Third Schedule of the University Act (2015).
Against this backdrop, he said the Council has the sole responsibility of hiring and firing and in more specific terms, for the appointment, promotion, and discipline (including dismissal or termination of appointment) of all categories of staff members.
He added that the Council is responsible for the interpretation of establishment circulars to determine whether they are consistent with the Laws and Statutes of the University and the approval of the adoption of those circulars that are consistent with University Laws and Statutes.
While acknowledging that not much was given to the Chairmen and Council members, he said they were expected to make huge sacrifices of helping to ensure Revenue generation/mobilization for their universities.
He gave a lucid example of the United States of America, where the mantra for Council members appointment is “give, get, or get out.”
He said, even in Nigeria, some Chairmen and members of Councils were known to have used their contacts and connections to get additional funds and other resources for the university from governmental agencies, corporate bodies, and individuals. Some rich and generous ones among them were also known to have made substantial personal donations to the universities.
He cited the case of the University of Lagos, where Chief Afe Babalola who served as the Council Chairman (2000-2008) built and donated a large auditorium that still served as an important revenue source for the University.
Other issues demanding their attention included: Matters arising from last strike action by the university-based unions and high cost of power supply in the universities.
He charged the Councils to work on establishing harmonious working relationships between the various organs of their universities, which are essential for the development and growth of the University.
The Councils were urged to encourage the universities that have not developed Strategic Plans to start the process as soon as possible, as good harmonious relationship without proper planning would amount to nothing.
At the national level, he challenged the Committee of Pro-Chancellors to, as a matter of urgency, devise means of ensuring stability in the Nigerian University System, by serving as the bridge between the Federal Government and the various university-based unions.
In another presentation on: “Realistic and Alternative Funding Models and Resource Management for Nigerian Universities”, a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor Olufemi A. Bamiro outlined the problem with funding and revenue generation in Nigerian public universities.
According to him, “there is a high level of unsustainable dependence on government for funding which must be tackled through exploration of other sources of funding from other key stakeholders”.
There was also universities’ continuing over-reliance on government sources, fuelled by the ideological stance of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in which education is portrayed as a public good, which is surely out of tune with a modernising nation state like Nigeria with the desire to take its rightful place in the comity of nations.
He said, contrary to die-hard opinions, Education remained both a public good and a private good, arguing that continuing reliance on government encourages apathy and laziness on the part of the individual universities, which results in their lukewarm attitude to the deployment of their intellectual endowment or potential to explore other sources of funding.
Professor Bamiro pointed out that the funding system is socially inequitable because of the absence (or near total absence) of tuition fees, whose payment has been largely politicised with the no-tuition policy of government denying the universities access to the most important readily available additional source of funding.
He said the scrapped National Education Bank could be resuscitated in addition to the operation of scholarships, students’ loan schemes and bursaries to support indigent students.
He stated that the present situation calls for the preparation of needs-based budget for the consideration of government and also the management of the finances of the university in an optimal manner.
He also said, the funding mechanism by government requires the operation of a performance-driven system with well-articulated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as basis of fund allocation.
He called for a revisit of the present system of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as some of the commercial activities such as production of table water, bakery, rental of spaces, guest houses, among others, require management system that does not interfere with the academic functions of staff of the university.
The Director, Compensation, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Mr. Chiadiadighi Ogu,who spoke on “Remuneration and Entitlements of Vice-Chancellors and Members of Governing Councils of Federal Universities,” said the Commission had observed that Registrars and Bursars who are the custodians of the rules and regulations in the universities do not often advise the Vice Chancellors,Council Members and other Principal Officers appropriately, especially when they have personal interests.
He cited some cases where the advice was given, Council Members and VCs ignored them, while pressures and threats from staff and union members, fellow Council Members on Vice-Chancellors contribute to the escalation of these infractions.
He explained that Infractions amount to abuse of office through which the Government loses lots of funds, noting that all Council members and other Principal Officers of the universities could face sanctions in addition to a refund if found guilty.
Mr Ogu advised the Council Members and Principal Officers to be properly fore-guided as they begin their tenures.
He enumerated the effects of the infractions to include, but not limited to: (i) distortion of internal and external relativities in salaries; (ii) over bloating of the wage bill; and industrial relations problems and strikes.
Another paper titled: “Understanding Public Procurement in Universities,” was presented by the Director of Procurement Practice, in the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Engr. Eugenia E. Ojeah; which highlighted the Drivers of Public Procurement, the roles of the various Tenders Board on Procurement, and the composition of the Procurement Planning Committee (PPC), among others.
Other papers were delivered on the Legal Framework establishing the Universities by Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Uyo, Professor Enefiok Essien as well as on Funding Options for Capital Projects by the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Architect Sonny Echono.
There was also a goodwill message delivered by the Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Professor Lilian Salami, on behalf of other colleagues, assuring the Councils of their support to ensure that they succeed in their assignments.
The Retreat was Chaired by the Acting Executive Secretary, NUC, Mr. Chris J. Maiyaki, who was assisted by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Academics, Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu.
At the retreat were top officials of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and some Acting Directors of the National Universities Commission.
At the Retreat were the Acting Directors of: Inspection and Monitoring (DIM), Mrs Lydia Imoroa; Finance and Account (DFA), Mrs Hauwa Amos; Students (DOS), Ms. Rita Nneka Okonjo; Human Resources (DHR), Mrs Victoria Omorodion and Public Affairs (DPA), Ms. Offiong U. Edor.