Yar’Adua, Obasanjo lament crises in varsity system

Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja - 08.06.2009

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar’Adua and his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, expressed serious concern over the crises that have plagued the university system and the falling standard of education in Nigerian universities, especially in the last 15 years.

Both spoke at the seventh convocation ceremony of the Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State yesterday, where they dissected the various problems in the university education, largely created by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Non-Academic Staff of Universities (NASU) incessant strikes and disruptions of the education system.

But they both (President Yar’Adua and Chief Obasanjo) agreed that the coming and licensing of the private universities like Babcock University, had brought hope to the university system, even as the President laid the foundation of the N32 billion College of Health Sciences and 750-bed medical centre project of the Babcock University.

Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin, who represented President Yar’Adua, said what had happened in the last 15 years in the university life in Nigeria had brought the country back severely, adding that there had been great disruption of work, while students had not been able to acquire the kind of education and learning they required and teachers have not met the expectation of students.