Shun academic dishonesty, VC advises lecturers

Prof Sulyman Abdukareem, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, has appealed to Nigerian lecturers to shun “academic dishonesty.’’

Abdulkareem made the appeal on Monday in Ilorin at an interactive session on promotion guidelines for academic staff of the university.

The vice chancellor condemned the unnecessary recycling of old works to produce substandard journals in desperation for career progression.

He said the essence of the interactive session was to explain to the academic staff of the university the new rules for promotion.

“Once rules are met, no one will be denied his promotion;  nobody will change the rules in the middle of the game,’’ he said.

He gave an assurance that the university would continue to respond to changes in the university system while the rules would be dynamic to conform with international best practices.

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The vice-chancellor, however,  appealed to members of staff who may not be favoured by the rules at a particular time not to be discouraged by such temporary set-back so as not to impede future opportunities.

Also speaking at the interactive session, the Chairman of the university’s Library and Publications Committee, Prof. Saliu Ambali,  assured the lecturers that all the proposals aggregated by his committee were intended to bring out the best in them.

According to him, the proposals will ensure that promotion exercises in the university conform to global best practices.

“The university’s management has nothing to gain in the stagnation of its staff members, particularly those in the academic segment.

“The university would not sacrifice merit for any other consideration, as such, staff must show more interest and imbibe all the factors that are often considered in their annual promotion exercise.

“Henceforth, promotion guidelines will be open in such a way that staff can easily assess themselves to know where they stand and their eligibility for promotion,’’ he said.

Ambali challenged the academic staff to ensure they look for reputable outlets to publish articles, saying publications in substandard journals or “journals without proven integrity” would no longer be accepted.

In his remarks, Dr Usman Raheem, the Chairman of the  institution’s  chapter of  Academic Staff Union of Universities, commended the committee for “a very proactive reaction to the yearnings of the university’s academic staff over the years.’’

He said the innovations would reduce tension in the system and promote intellectual productivity.

Raheem, however, called for more funding for research and conferences to boost the career progression of lecturers and also improve their skills.

He said that increased funding would also enhance the image of the university in order to accentuate its ranking among its peers.