A University Don, Prof. John Okpako Enaowho yesterday stunned his
audience in Asaba where he submitted that the National University
Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB)
were causing retrogression in the education sector.
Enaowho who delivered a lecture titled ‘Formal Planning Development
in Nigeria Education: The Paradox of Autonomy and Dependence’ at the
opening of a two-day education summit by Delta State Government urged
the Federal Government to scrap NUC and JAMB.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt opined
that the principle of true federalism should also be applied in the
administration of tertiary institutions of the country.
He condemned the centralization powers of NUC and JAMB, stating that by
scrapping JAMB, universities can admit as many students as possible to
enable them generate money to operate independently.
He cited the United States of America which has eight of the best ten
universities in the world that have free hands to operate, adding that
education should be removed from the shoulders of the federal government
as it has so much at hand.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Afe Babalola, (SAN) who was
represented by Prof. Isreal Aruboloye of Afe Babalola University,
Ado-Ekiti, suggested that members of the public should be encouraged to
endow university for research and also assist indigent students.
The erudite lawyer was of the view that missionary schools should
also be encouraged by federal and State governments to establish
institutions where morals and characters are given a pride of place.
In his key note address, educationist and Professor Emeritus, Prof.
Pai Obayan said the nation’s educational policy has been faulty for a
long time.
On funding, Prof. Obayan queried the huge investment by federal and
state governments on education, adding that the cost of maintaining
bureaucracy was more than what was spent on classroom and training
teachers.
Declaring the summit open, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said the summit was
to examine, evaluate and re-engineer the educational system in the
state with emphasis on teaching excellence, innovation, better learning
outcomes, community involvement and social transformation.

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