Varsities’ councils critical in meeting mandates- Ex- ASUU chief

Former President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, on Thursday described governing councils of universities as critical in meeting university mandates.
Awuzie told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos, that governing councils were major components of universities that could not be overlooked by any such institution in a bid to actualise the purpose of its establishment.

According to him, the purpose of constituting such a body is simply to regulate and curtail the excesses of some of the university authorities.
“I feel the constitution of governing councils in universities should be one of the things to be put in place as soon as plans for establishing them are conceived.

“I dare say that all these calls for universities to constitute their governing councils by the NUC should have come much earlier because it is a sine qua-non for good governance in our universities.
“It is very important because it is a critical organ that will ensure that our universities do what they are expected to do, as at when due.

“We cannot be talking about the way forward for the poor university system in the country and the need to meet world standards without first looking inwards and putting the right things in place,” Awuzie said.
The immediate past ASUU boss noted that with governing councils in place, universities would be alert and alive to their responsibilities.

He called on vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities– private or public– to be pro-active in working towards achieving a common goal for the benefit of the students and the country at large.