Gideon Arinze in Enugu
Registrar of Caritas University Enugu, Maurice Onwuka, has said that politics is the major contributing factor to the gradual collapse of the education system in Nigeria.
He made this known at the end of a two-day retreat and retirees send-off organised by the Association of Nigerian University professional administrators (ANUPA), University of Nigeria, Nsukka branch.
According to Onwuka, Politicians in Nigeria often put-up structures anywhere and call them universities without following the process involved and considering the necessary ingredients that will make it successful.
Some of the effects of the politicisation of the university system in Nigeria are the endless wave of strikes, the inability of universities to compete favourably with other universities in other climes and the poor quality of students, according to him.
He noted that the lack of training for staff of universities in the country is another challenge that is further contributing to the system’s decline because they are unable to keep up with the trends and have nothing new to offer the students.
“Poor funding is another challenge our universities are having to deal with,” he said. “Our students are suffering as a result of this, the lecturers are not catered for, our libraries are in bad shape.”
He explained that Universities, unlike other institutions, require years of research and consultations, hence the need for politics to be separated from the establishment of universities.
