The Vice Chancellor of Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, Prof Abdullahi Tukur, has stated that embargo placed on employment by the Federal Government, which makes it difficult for universities to employ staff, is choking the university system.
Tukur said the embargo ought to be reviewed before it spells doom for the system.
Speaking during the 24th, 25th and 26th Combined Convocation of the Modibbo Adama University in Girei, near Yola, Prof Abdullahi stressed that the university system as a whole is experiencing a difficult phase in its existence owing to the embargo on employment.
The VC’s speech during the main convocation ceremony on Saturday was a followup to his earlier lamentation on Wednesday when he addressed a pre-convocation press briefing.
He had told newsmen during the briefing, “The different layers of approval that the system is subjected to before gaining the nod to employ staff is downright frustrating and agonizing and if care is not taken, could spell doom for the whole system.”
At the main convocation ceremony on Saturday when President Muhammadu Buhari was represented by Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajuuba, the MAU VC appealed for freedom for individual universities to employ staff.
He asked that “a special waiver be given to universities to recruit academic staff to not only meet the regulatory requirements of the NUC but to also ensure manpower development, mentoring and the continuity of the universities.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Education said the Buhari government would always encourage universities to engage in any research and development efforts capable of aiding the growth of the various sectors of the nation’s economy.
He urged management and governing boards of all universities to formulate regulations that guide students and lecturers towards academic excellence and worthy behaviour.