Varsities need proper funding , says Ekiti deputy governor

Ekiti State Deputy Governor Prof.
Modupe Adelabu has urged the Federal
Government to fund universities
adequately.
She said this would ensure the
production of quality graduates .
Lamenting that graduates of Nigerian
universitieswereunemployable in the
local and international markets, Mrs.
Adelabu said “our higher institutions
have become shadows of their glorious
past ”.
She spoke with reporters in Ado- Ekiti,
the state capital , on the ongoing strike
by the Academic Staff Union of
Universities ( ASUU). Mrs. Adelabu said it
was shameful that the Obafemi Awolowo
University (OAU ), Ile- Ife, which has
been ranked the best in the country,
occupies the eighth position in Africa.
She urged stakeholders to return to the
drawing board and come up with a
lasting solution to the recurring issue of
varsity under-funding .
The deputy governor said: “I am sure it
will end very soon . It cannot go on like
this. More so, our universities are no
more competitive. Our graduates are
unemployable because the universities
are shadows of themselves . Instructional
materials are no more there; the
environment is no more conducive and
the varsities are under- funded. We
cannot go on like this.
“ OAU, which has been ranked No . 1 in
Nigeria, is No. 8 in Africa. This is
disturbing . There was a time when
Nigerian universities ranked among the
best internationally. I think it is better
for the Federal Government and ASUU
to settle the matter once and for all, so
that we will not have to revisit the
funding of varsities and some other
issues again.”
On allegations that the lecturers were
pursuing their personal agenda, she
said : “ I do not think ASUU is concerned
for selfish reasons. They are trying to
protect the future of the children they
are training, so that they would be able
to compete with others in the market
when they graduate.
“ We will continue to wallow in poverty if
our gradu ates are unemployable. We
cannot go on like this. Research has
shown that Nigerian graduates are
unemployable, except those who have
very rich parents, who can send them to
schools abroad or to private institutions .
We want our public institutions to be
well funded, so that teaching and
learning can take place.”

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