Lecturers, Staffs, Varsity Administrators Responsible For Decay In Education Sector- Osinbajo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday blamed lecturers, staffs and administrators of the institutions for the decay in the country’s education sector.
The vice president who noted that they were important stakeholders in the sector, said the current state of education in the country and in Africa generally cannot be divorced from the roles played by them.
Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 13th Regional Conferenve of Higher Education, Research and Policy Network (HERPNET) in Ibadan, he said “many times people blame the government, the parents and even the students for the decay in the system but often ignore the contributions of lecturers, staffs and administrators of the institutions as important stakeholders in the educational sector.”
The event which was organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Social And Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan with the theme “Managing Corruption in African Higher Education Systems”, held at NISER’s conference hall, Ibadan.
Represented by a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Sadiq Radda, the Vice President said corruption starts with basic things such as not doing the right thing at the right time to condoning unethical and criminal behaviour within the institutions.
“Perhaps the discussion here today may start with everyone accepting the fact that the responsibility of killing corruption from our institutions rest on us.
“Many times, we pass the buck. We blame government for underfunding higher institutions and the students for not being diligent enough. We blame parents for the rot in our higher institutions while we ignore the fact that as lecturers and administrators, we contribute to the state of education in our countries.
“Corruption starts with basic things such as not doing the right thing at the right time to condoning unethical and criminal behaviour within our institutions. Worst still, when we allow such to become the order of the day.
“If we must address the issue of corruption and find an enduring solution to it, we ought to pay particular attention to basic things such as the admission process, our commitment to students wellbeing; how we adhere to lecture timetable, examine scripts marked and when results are released, when students get their certificate after graduation, the employment process, promotion, training opportunities for academic and non-academic staff.
“Relationship between students and the lecturers, effective complaint mechanism and the protection of the complainant, due process in the award of contract and so many other things.
“These may appear basic but are strong indicators of a functional educational system which places any institution at an advantage to compete at the global level.
“When limited resources are well managed for the benefit of our institutions, when staff have a sense of belonging and students are optimistic about their prospects because everyone is committed to their wellbeing, when the quality and consistency of information received and research carried out are certain, our institutions in Africa will stand out.”
Also speaking, HERPNET President, Professor Olukolade Odekunle said the group was so sensitive to government laudable policies and programmes gear towards sustainable development, adding that their thinking is how corruption can be effectively managed through the instrumentality of higher education.
“This topic is coming at a very crucial period when African countries including Nigeria are focusing their attention on the best strategies to eradicate corruption in all sectors of the economy including education”, he said.
