The visitation panel to Ekiti State University (EKSU) by the Ekiti State government has stressed that it will adhere strictly to the terms of reference given to it by the governor of the state, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi.
Professor Bode Asubiojo, the chairman of the panel, made the pledge on Tuesday during a courtesy visit to the vice chancellor of EKSU, Professor Samuel Oye Bandele.
Professor Asubiojo said the clarification was necessary to clear the air and correct erroneous belief in certain quarters on the real purpose of the panel.
He said that members of the panel would need the cooperation of all the management and other members of the university community to make the job of the panel easy, assuring that members of the panel are seasoned administrators who would do their job meticulously.
ALSO READ: Why I killed my mother, slept with the corpse ― 18-year-old suspect
Welcoming members of the panel, Professor Oye Bandele noted that the university would cooperate with the panel in giving out the necessary information it needs.
He noted that a visitation panel is a mandatory exercise in a university to move the concerned institution forward.
The vice chancellor said the duty of a panel is for the good of any university, similar to the accreditation team from the National Universities Commission (NUC) that serves as quality control of academic programmes of universities.
Bandele said the whole university community would cooperate with the panel.
According to a statement by the director, Information & Corporate Affairs of the university, Chief Ajibade Olubunmi, members of the panel were later taken on a tour of the university campus, including the College of Medicine, the Academic Building, Faculty of Engineering, Management Science, Faculty of Education and the EKSU water factory.
The panel is empowered to enquire into the level of implementation of the white paper on the last visitation panel report in 2007; evaluate the leadership quality of the university in terms of the roles of the governing council, the vice chancellor and other principal officers.
It is also empowered to examine the financial management of the university, including statutory allocations and internally generated revenue (IGR) on the recommended period and determine whether it was in compliance with appropriate regulations, statutes, acts and laws of the university.
It will also investigate the application of funds, particularly special grants, loans meant for specific projects in order to determine the status of such projects and their relevance for further funding; and determine the adequacy or otherwise of staff and examine the quality of its staff development programmes, among others.
The panel is expected to submit its reports and recommendations to the governor not later than December 10, 2018.
and then