The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund(TETFUND) Arc. Sonny Echono has revealed that Nigerian universities must attain all levels of autonomy towards ensuring operational efficiency and effective performance.
He explained that the autonomy when fully operational and allowed would afford Nigerian universities to initiate ideas in improving quality education and contributing to national development.
Echono made this known on Saturday in Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti state while delivering the convocation lecture of the nineth convocation ceremonies of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) titled, ‘ University Autonomy and the Challenges of Quality Tertiary Education in Nigeria.’
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According to the former permanent secretary in the federal civil service, Nigerian universities should enjoy financial, administrative and academic autonomy for them to help in providing solutions to myriad of challenges confronting the nation and as well rank up with other universities across the world.
While acknowledging the negative impact of political and bureaucratic control on the nation’s university system, the convocation lecturer argued that higher institutions should be allowed free to determine its cost and explore commercial opportunities to guarantee self-sufficiency in achieving desired quality education.
Echono said, ” Autonomy enables universities to enhance their infrastructure network using collaboration with industries, alumni, and other educational and research institutions.
” University autonomy also provides opportunities for global collaboration between many universities to share ideas and experiences, pedagogy used for effective teaching and learning processes, offer shared courses, dual degree programmes, cultural exchange programmes, research collaborations between different countries, and facilitate global competitiveness.
” Thus, university autonomy is desirable for operational efficiency and effective performance. It provides the institutions with the opportunity to innovate and substantially improve the overall quality of education for national development.”
The Executive Secretary who lauded the University Autonomy Act 2007 as a legislation that would further enhance autonomy and equilibrium in the university system, added that stakeholders should collaborate in ensuring its total implementation beyond federal universities.
” Regrettably, the Act applies only to Federal Universities. Thus, stakeholders in the University system must assist in persuading the States to adapt and adopt these provisions in their enabling Laws to ensure uniformity in the system,” he said.
He identified funding as the most critical challenge confronting university education in the country, saying, ” this has made many academics and non-academics work under challenges circumstances thereby posing major constraints to attaining academic excellence in Nigerian universities.”
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