by Tony Icheku
Perhaps if not for the motion by Hon. Sam Onuigbo on the floor of the House of Representatives, Nigerians would have woken up one morning to hear that certain courses had been de-listed from specialised universities, namely Universities of Agriculture and those of Technology.
It would have been a major setback for Nigeria's educational system tettering on the precipice of confusion. Additionally it would have amounted to a gross violation of the laws setting up these universities.
Indeed, it was only in the inglorious military era that the Federal Executive Council, FEC could rise from one of its meeting and enact an order with immediate effect.
One finds it difficult to see immediate or future benefits from the Federal Government's directive that the specialised universities streamline their courses according to their founding objectives. All that is obvious from this directive is unnecessary busybody and 'notice me' tactics.
Indeed, straight away, one can see that anybody who brought the proposal to FEC was being hypocritical and bent on misleading that eminent body. Did that person spell out how limiting a particular University of Agriculture to agricultural related course would boost the agricultural revolution Nigeria is seeking? Was that person by implication saying that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has exhausted its capacities and resources in ensuring that the various agriculture related research institutes, like NIFOR for instance are now running and delivering at full capacity? That the various River-Basin Development Authorities are contributing 100% to the impending agricultural revolution?
Perhaps that person failed to enlighten FEC that these Universities of Agriculture, like its University of Technology counterparts are only producing white collar graduates, not real farmers or engineers with ideal mindset to drive the anticipated revolution in either agriculture or technology. By turning these universities to a monotechnic, are we not creating another University/Polytechnic first class and second class diploma controversy?
Maybe that busybody intellectual must have informed FEC that when groundnut, palm oil, cocoa and others were earning foreign exchange for the respective defunct regions it was driven by the white collar agricultural science graduates from University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
But lets get to the brass tacks and here, our focus would be on Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU
MOUAU, like every other Federal or State university in Nigeria is established by an enabling legislation. MOUAU was established by the Federal University of Agriculture Act, Nov. 1992, and it states that the University ''shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name''
Amongst other objectives of the university as provided in section 2
includes developing and offering ''academic and professional programmes
leading to theaward of diplomas, first degrees, postgraduate research and higher degrees which emphasise planning, adaptive, technical, maintenance, developmental and productive skills in agriculture, agricultural engineering and allied professional disciplines with the aim of producing socially mature persons with capacity to improve on those disciplines and develop new ones, but also to contribute to the scientific transformation of agriculture in Nigeria''; And ''to act as agents and catalysts, through postgraduate training, research and innovation for the effective and economic utilisation, exploitation and conservation of Nigeria's natural, agricultural, economic and human resources''
By reference to the above Act, one could see that what the FG intends to do is to lump all the universities in one basket and embark on on its stream lining adventure. That would not do at all. Each university mukst be treated as a separate corporate entity as envisaged by the Act. Any other action would be in breach.
It is pertinent to state here that the FG's directive has not spelt out any defect it would cure by implementing the policy or future collateral damage it intends to mitigate.
No law has been broken by setting up the College of Management sciences, COLMAS at MOUAU, says Prof John Ihendinihu, Dean of the College.
Ihendinihu maintained that said that all the courses received the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) before they were introduced by the university.
He further noted that the FG's directive breached the Federal Universities of Agriculture Act CAP FOR CAN 2010, which established the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria and stipulated a tripod mandate of teaching, research and extension in agriculture and related/allied disciplines in the universities.
Ihendinihu explained that MOUAU in realising its core mandate established six colleges for core agricultural programmes and six complementary colleges to provide foundational courses in related/allied disciplines in line with the law.
The complementary colleges are College of Physical and Applied Sciences, College of National and Applies Sciences, College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Management Sciences, Colleges of Education and General and Communication Studies.
The dean said that the colleges awarded first degrees, Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in addition to providing support teaching and research services for the core agricultural programmes.
He urged the Federal Government and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to do a proper interpretation of the law that set up the affected universities:
“It is imperative to interpret allied/related disciplines in the context of legal mandate of the Federal Universities of Agriculture to mean all disciplines, which offer foundational complementary teaching and research opportunities to core agricultural programmes without discrimination,” he said.
He added that resource verification was carried out on Agribusiness and Financial Management programme, which had options in Accounting, Banking and Finance, Marketing, Agribusiness and Management.
The dean explained that the university got the NUCs approval on April 15, 2008 to run B.Sc Agribusiness courses and Financial Management.
Ihendinihu further proffered that on Feb. 12, 2015, the Commission also gave approval to the university to establish six full-time B.Sc programmes in Accounting, Marketing, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Studies and Economics.
According to him, again in November 2015, the university, got the Commission’s full accreditation for Master’s and PhD programmes in Accounting, Banking and Finance, Marketing and Business Administration.
“It should, therefore, be noted that MOUAU is not running unapproved programmes in Management Sciences and that all its B.Sc programmes were resourced, verified and approved by the NUC.
“The M.Sc and PhD programmes offered in Management Sciences are enjoying accredited status of the NUC,” Ihendonihu affirmed.
He submitted that the policy by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is `tantamount to policy summersaults and inconsistency’
He proffered that MOUAU was the only Federal Government tertiary institution in Abia and that shutting the programmes would further limit the chances of candidates from the state seeking admission to the university.
Perhaps, if FEC really studied the proposal before adopting it and moving to implement same, it would have arrived at similar line of argument like that presented on the floor of House of Representatives.
Hon Onuigbo, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in moving his motion argued that the implementation of the directive should be halted pending a 'comprehensive appraisal of the rationale behind it by stakeholders'
He maintained that any effort to phase out non-agricultural programmes will distort the efficient running of teaching and learning of the professional core agricultural courses in the universities.
According to him, there already exists a kind of symbiotic relationship between the core agricultural and non-agricultural courses, with each programme complementing the delivery of the academic curriculum of the other.
“The world has given rise to the necessity to focus on combining both technological and management skills in agricultural profession to be grounded in science, management techniques and social skills that drive today’s sustainable agricultural economy.
“It is deeply troubling that academic programmes with outstanding records of excellence could be blacklisted for closure simply because they coexisted to enrich agricultural programmes as obtainable globally,’’ Onuigbo said.
Speaking specifically for his constituents, Onuigbo expressed concern that phasing out of College of Management Sciences at MOUAU will have its attendant effects on the students, and prospective students.
“If the implementation of the directive is not halted, the admission trauma of the youths, especially those within the catchment area of the university will be compounded, given the high number of students seeking admission in the densely populated area,’’ Onuigbo said.
He emphasized that the haste with which the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) delisted management courses from the ones available on offer by the MOUAU had the consequence of denying admissions to over 2000 prospective candidates.
“This has its deleterious effect on the psyche of the candidates who may as a consequence of idleness, resort to crimes and other anti-social behaviors,’’ Onuigbo stated.
He further argued that the directive violated the National Universities Commission (NUC) Act: “The NUC Act Section 4 (1) b (iii) states that part of the functions of the Commission shall include “recommendations for the establishment of new academic units in existing universities or the approval or disapproval of proposals to establish such academic units.
“It is important to state that all programmes of the Colleges of Management Sciences (COLMAS) were established based on approvals granted to the universities by the NUC after human and material resources evaluations.
“With these approvals that are verifiable, it should be clearly noted that MOUAU is not running unapproved programmes in COLMAS as all the B.Sc. programmes mounted in the College Management Sciences were resource verified and approved by the NUC,’’ Oniugbo said.
Contributing, the Chairman House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Mohammed Monguno (Borno-APC) condemned the directive to de-list non-agric programmes from the curriculum of Federal Universities of Agriculture.
Monguno said that management courses were needed to boost the nation’s agricultural sector, particularly as that the country was determined to diversify its economy through placing greater focus on agriculture.
“In recognition of the important role of agriculture in driving economic growth, improved revenue and job creation, there is need to provide foundational courses to drive core agricultural programmes,’’ he added.
Also, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas (Adamawa-APC) said the probe was crucial in ensuring that students were not denied the opportunity to enroll in the management science courses in the forth coming matriculation examination pending the resolution of the matter.
“Given the fact that many Nigerians are eager to apply for admission into the universities, they should not be denied or restricted to a particular university,’’ he added.
Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has added his voice to the debate by urging the Federal Government to reverse the policy because of its adverse effects.
Ikpeazu told visiting Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo that scrapping non-agriculture programmes from MOUAU, the only Federal tertiary institution in Abia would reduce it to a glorified secondary school and put the fate of thousands of students as well as staff on the balance.
“MOUAU is being threatened because they want to turn it to a monotechnic,” Ikpeazu lamented.
The Governor argued that in other parts of the world specialised universities also run programmes outside their core mandate, saying that the new policy is both strange and retrogressive.
“I am aware of a university of Agriculture in China established in 1809 and it has faculty in law and humanities. Also universities of Agriculture in US run programmes in non-agriculture-related areas.
“For a state that is educationally disadvantaged and with limited federal institutions it can only be proper to allow these programmes they are shutting down so that our children can acquire university education in the discipline of their choice,” Ikpeazu said
As the nation awaits the House of Representatives report on the matter, one expects the authorities to not only do the right thing, but to also act within the law it swore to protect.
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