Ali Seeks Improved Infrastructure at Nigerian Universities

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Chairman, Association of Private and State Universities in Nigeria and legal luminary, Mallam Yusuf Ola-Olu Ali, has said if Nigeria wants its universities to be counted among world class universities, the infrastructure base of the country needs to be improved upon.

Ali said apart from this, the government needs to increase budgetary allocation to the education sector.

Speaking as a guest lecturer at the 36th Convocation Ceremony of University of Ilorin over the weekend, the legal luminary said: “The present situation in infrastructures at the nation’s universities calls for an urgent need for our governments to make available enough funds for the rehabilitation of existing facilities.”
He said that, “Governments should intensify efforts in providing more physical facilities in the universities.

“Besides, corporate bodies, philanthropists and alumni associations should also assist in the provision of these facilities to aid effective teaching-learning activities in order to achieve the academic goals of university education for national development.”

Ali added, “There is need for a serious expansion of physical facilities and equipment to meet the increasing student population.

“Also important is the need to take serious look at maintenance culture, which is lacking in an average Nigerian, as this will go a long way to reduce the rate of decay of the existing facilities.

“Not only that, such appropriated sums must be released for the purpose they are meant for in order to improve the infrastructural deficit in the universities in the country.”

On the area of funding, Ali stated that, “Governments should allocate more funds to the universities so that they can be more effective in their day-to-day operations.”

He noted that, “Effort should be made by the governments to abide by the 26 per cent annual budgetary allocation prescribed for the educational sector by UNESCO. This will go a long way to change the face of education in the country.”

Ali also opined further that, “The universities should also seek alternative sources of revenue generation to augment what the government allocates to them.

“Apart from the release of fund, there is the dire need for an effective monitoring of the management of funds presently being allocated to the sector, as efforts should be intensified to improve on what is currently being allocated to the system.

“As a means of ensuring effective management of funds, it has been suggested that reliable and credible accounting system should be established in each Nigerian university to guarantee accountability, honesty and transparency.”

He also said: “There is urgent need to focus on the funding intervention agencies like TETFUND, NEED ASSESSMENT and others to rejig them for better service delivery.
“There is the need to rework the modalities of this intervention to make them robust, equitable, transparent and goal getting.

“Better scientific and empirical methods must be designed to bench mark the intervention.
“Lobbying, favourtism, whom you know nepotism should have no place in the criteria used for intervention,” he added.

Ali, therefore urged the management of the University of Ilorin not to relent in its efforts at adding more value to the academic goals of the students