Research funding should be awarded to the best proposing varsities — AUN president

Margee Ensign, PhD, is the president and Vice Chancellor of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Nigeria. She speaks with select journalists in Yola, on the first-class training being offered to the 50 escaped Chibok’s schoolgirls who are on Federal Government scholarship at AUN, the need for private universities to benefit from the national research fund of the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund), among other issues. Nigeria Tribune’s AUSTIN AJAYI was there…

CAN  you tell us how you feel seeing more Chibok schoolgirls being matriculated into your university and what is the significance of this to your institution?

This is really a symbolic moment in AUN. In AUN, matriculation is very important for three reasons. At that point, we talk about our mission as a development university which makes us special from other universities; we also talk about what it means to have an American-styled kind of education in Nigeria and what we expect our students to learn.

We charged them on critical thinking and problem-solving; the small classes and their work with the faculties. We make them pledge on holding to these ideals; honesty in ourselves and everything we do as well as being of service to the university community; the state, Yola and the country as a whole. These are the three reasons I believe the matriculation ceremony is important.

I have had many wonderful memories. One of such was when some parents were agitating if Yola was a place to leave their children, though they’ve heard people say, it’s a peaceful, calm and beautiful place. For them to come to terms with this was a learning oasis.

The second memory was during the dinner organised for the parents and new students. I went round each of the tables to ask the students how the day was going. At a table of about 10 boys; I asked what their favourite part of the day was and three of them said it was the discussion on what our mission to be a development university meant. It’s exciting to know that students are coming here for what we stand for. Most importantly is the development of the Chibok’s schoolgirls. We enrolled them into our programmes from the junior secondary school level and now they are in the university. We even have a graduate who has not only transformed into a beautiful young woman, but a professional in her chosen career. As you already know, we had more than 50 of them through the Federal Government scholarship scheme, among the new students that matriculated into various undergraduate programmes in our institution.

You also have new students from Rwanda, Niger and Cameroun, what are you doing differently to attract these African students, considering the state of security in the country?

From our history, AUN has always had students around the continent. I’m thrilled that they are coming back now and I would like to attribute this to our Directorate of Marketing and Communication; with their efforts more people are learning about AUN than before. In Rwanda, our prospective students had the privilege of meeting with our alumni, this is important because the alumni are a proof of our quality education. I think these two things are significant to spreading our wings and story.

The university introduced the law programme during your first tenure, how is the programme faring now?

The law school is in great demand; we are building a bigger law school on the campus because the demand is so great. Moreover, we have state-of-the-art facilities. The law programme is very innovative for the courses that are taught, such as gender law and development, new technology, law, HIV and medical law. We are bringing a different approach and look into the law programme in AUN. We also do things that seem attractive to students, namely the Community Development Courses (CDC). For instance, some of the students are out there working with prisoners, helping to educate them and understand why they are in the prison. They have equally paid the fine of some of them to be released. Clinical legal advice is also given to students; we have graduated a set of lawyers and they are doing very well.

You introduced a ‘Whistleblower App’ in collaboration with the Shehu Yar’Adua Foundation. Can you tell us what your intentions are?

Not only did we launch the App which I believe is one of its kind in a Nigerian university, we also rewrote and updated our safeguard for sexual harassment policy. The App is vital because it enables those who have experienced sexual harassment or any form of abuse to report without any sense of shame. It is usually difficult for people who have gone through sexual harassment or abuse to report. Different things happen to people when they are abused, but the fact that the App gives room for anonymous reporting is key. I have a whole team monitoring the App all the time.

We have a strong structure that receives the reports; meets with the person complaining as well as the accused. It’s not just an App, but an important development to help all of us and I hope other Nigerian universities adopt it. It was extraordinary to see students teach one another on how to use it and what some concepts on it meant. I am proud we could be pioneering this.

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How can it help the university in combating sexual harassment?

It’s already helping us because students are reporting. It has made the reporting a lot easier, unlike before when people didn’t know where to go and they are afraid. No one is afraid anymore and they now know how supportive my administration is on this. So, people who have been affected are coming out and we are dealing with the issues.

Will it also be opened to other universities?

It could be. The goal is to expand it to other universities. We hope others will follow our lead or work with us. It is not a difficult Information Technology (IT) installation and so I would love to see this being used nationwide.

Are there plans to introduce new academic programmes in AUN?

We are going to apply for the Public Health course. It is a programme in great need, most especially in the middle of this pandemic. Over time we will do medicine, but we want Public Health first because the need for public healthcare in the country and in the world is pressing. Public Health is in the forefront of dealing with this pandemic and health challenges both in the North-east and the whole country. We are also looking at some innovative and data-oriented science programmes. We will be applying for several new ones and once they are approved they will be launched.

Many universities are struggling with the impact of COVID-19, what has your experience been in AUN and are you considering online learning in the near future?

We have been very fortunate to work, even with COVID-19 pandemic. We have no documented case of COVID 19 in our institution and we are fully prepared should that happen. We are also being blessed with access to the vaccine and our university community has been cooperative in getting vaccinated. We remain a safe and secure campus. We also hope to introduce some hybrid form of learning; a combination of online and in person graduate programmes in the next few months or so.

Vice Chancellors from other private universities are clamouring for their inclusion in Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) funding. Aren’t you bothered?

I’m in full support of it. Research should be done throughout the country by the best hands which can be from both a public or private institution. Private institutions are providing great service wherever they are located. We don’t charge for full courses on education, but we are subsidising what is needed to deliver this education and we are really doing a good job with this.

There should be a level-playing ground to everyone with access to research funds and it should simply be awarded based on merit. The best proposal, be it from the public or private, should be given funding. In my view that is how the US government grants work. They are open to any university. It is awarded to the best proposal whether it is from the public or private.

Is insecurity in Northern Nigeria in any way affecting your enrollment figure?

I think we are doing well; we just entered our second largest class in our history. I think the word is getting out that Yola is safe, peaceful and secure and it’s actually the best place to get for your undergraduate and graduate studies because it’s a learning community. The location is actually helping us and we are not affected by any insecurity. The students keep coming. This is the second largest in our history in the spring batch.

In 2015, you organised a peace initiative workshop and training for journalists in Adamawa State, are there any plans for more of such workshops?

It was a collaboration between AUN and the US embassy in Abuja; that was an important partnership. It was when we came together with journalists to provide a peace perspective on what was happening with the insurgence. We created a network of peace journalists who had very strong media coverage. We will love to explore perhaps with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) or other media organisations to do content and conflict sensitive reports. We will like to partner with others and move that forward.