UNN lecturers hail 7-year ban on new federal tertiary institutions
Our challenge in this country is often not policy design but the poor implementation of well-intended policies,;
Some lecturers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) have praised the Federal Government’s recent embargo on creating new federal tertiary institutions for seven years.
The commendation was made in Nsukka on Wednesday during interviews with newsmen on the government’s ban on establishing new public tertiary institutions.
Prof. Okechukwu Nwaubani, Department of Social Science Education, said the embargo would allow government to adequately fund and equip existing federal institutions across the country.
“This seven-year embargo is commendable if government can genuinely implement it by funding and equipping already existing institutions.
“Our challenge in this country is often not policy design but the poor implementation of well-intended policies,” he said.
Nwaubani added that government should use the period to properly equip universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to meet international standards.
Nwaubani, also Director of Curriculum Development and Instructional Materials Centre (CUDIMAC) at UNN, said well-funded public institutions would produce globally competitive graduates.
Similarly, Dr Chinedu Ejezie, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, described the decision as a welcome development and an important step in the right direction.
“There is no sense in establishing many new federal institutions yearly when existing ones remain poorly funded,” Ejezie said.
He added that the policy would only succeed if government demonstrated the political will to enforce it effectively.
Ejezie, also Welfare Officer of ASUU at UNN, suggested the embargo be extended if institutions remained under-equipped after seven years.
Also, Dr George Akubue of UNN’s Institute of African Studies commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the policy, which, if implemented, would upgrade federal institutions to global standards.
“It is not the number of institutions that matters, but how well-equipped they are to meet international standards,” he said.
Akubue stressed that Nigeria’s global education ranking would improve if government invested the period in adequately funding existing tertiary institutions.
It would be recalled that the seven-year embargo was announced on Aug. 13 by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Tinubu.