Every day, new modalities are coming up on how to salvage the Nigerian education sector which analysts have said has gone down the ladder, especially when compared to what it used to be two decades ago. Kuni Tyessi in this exclusive interview with the pro-vice-chancellor of Baze University, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed examines politics and the private sector on one-hand and the world of Nigerian education on the other.
WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO GO INTO ESTABLISHING A UNIVERSITY WHEN THERE ARE MANY OCCUPATIONS AND PRE-OCCUPATIONS YOU WOULD HAVE GONE INTO?
I will start from the origin and I will say it is a matter of inheritance. There was a legacy left behind which I felt I should keep alive. The legacy has been in the line of promoting education. I am not exceptionally gifted but I have always wanted to remain in the education industry. Also by character, I am someone who naturally sets out to correct what I speak against or complain about or believe in. I have repeatedly complained about the declining quality of higher education and by character, I decided to do something about it. Lastly, opportunities are existing in that area and I took advantage of the opportunity because the opportunities are identical to the shortages, inefficiency and lapses that are prevalent in the sector.
AS A LAWMAKER IN THE UPPER CHAMBER, WOULD YOU SUBSCRIBE TO A BILL WHICH STATES THAT ELITE MUST NOT SEND THEIR CHILDREN OVERSEAS FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION?
Absolutely not. I can never be a party to such uncivilized and undemocratic law. Such a law will go against the fundamental human rights of the parents and of the children who are involved. It is a matter of choice. There could be a variety of reasons for sending a child aboard to study and necessarily that one is going for higher quality education. Some might even be medical. We are beginning to prove in Baze that quality education can be obtainable on the Nigerian soil and not just in the middle-east or in Europe. People are beginning to realize that universities like ours are beginning to offer so much. In a democracy, we have freedom and liberty and such a law will take so much. It is going to assume that the elite which you have failed to define because of the difficulty in our Nigerian setting. Where do you draw the line between a permanent secretary, director, assistant director, commissioner, minister? From where does one become elite? If an assistant director does not fall in that category and a deputy director falls in that category, that means an assistant director who has the means, can send his children aboard. If I’m a contractor or a carpenter and not in government and I have the means of sending my children aboard, why should I be stopped? Sentiments have to be removed in the process of lawmaking and our problem is not in sending kids aboard even though it has turned out to be a problem which is a response to the existing problems but the actual problem is not that of sending children aboard. Remember, nearly all the first and second generation of Nigerians studied aboard before our universities were founded. So I can never be a party to such a law. Even though a reader might still becloud his judgments and think that I’m not a progressive mind but in today’s world, that is not the meaning of being progressive. You do not deny people who have the chance of doing something good just because others cannot do it. Lawmaking is a very technical thing and what you really have to do is be fair to everyone.
CULTISM, VIOLENCE AND EXAM MALPRACTICE ARE SOME OF THE VICES GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN BATTLING WITH IN GOVERNMENT OWNED INSTITUTIONS. HOW DO YOU HOPE TO CURTAIL THE APPEARANCE OF SUCH?
It is far beyond the scope of Baze University to solve the educational problems in the country. However, Baze University wishes to make a contribution to society by promoting higher education, improving its quality and increasing the number of university spaces. It the responsibility of our government (federal, state and local).it is the responsibility of ministries and government agencies. Stakeholders like other universities, ASUU, NASU, parents of students and students themselves have to come in. There is no way Baze University can solve the issue of corruption, exam malpractices and cultism in other universities and these are the problems of the systems. The best we can do is show that these are alien and are not part of our culture. For exam fraud, we are 99% exam proof. The exam process starts with no one allowed to take in writing materials into the exam hall. We provide at least four meter square per student during the process of writing exams and we have CCTV cameras that record for over one month and we can still record and keep for a longer period if we wish. We deploy a large number of staff because we have high staff to student ratio. We also deploy bio-metrics and bar codding in place of students names and registration numbers and anywhere we see a student’s name, the student is automatically disqualified. In that case a lecturer does not know whose script he/she is marking. We have done this to protect our students from harassment and the lecturers from allegations. Our admissions are very transparent. You apply on-line and you keep a log of it. We don’t have anything like catchment area. Nigeria and the world is our catchment area. Irrespective of where you are, we consider you. There is no consideration of residence or even religion. For cultism, we have a very strong security and we have specialists on anti-cultism. Cultism happens when you have a very large number of students. Typically a university like ours has a manageable number of students and whenever there is a trace of that and it’s detected, the student will face a panel and will be shown the way out.
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES ARE SAID TO BE EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE RICH AND SO FAR, STATISTICS HAS SHOWN THAT 70% OF NIGERIANS LIVE BELOW A DOLLAR PER DAY. HOW DO YOU HOPE TO BREECH THE GAP ESPECIALLY IN TERM OF SCHOLARSHIPS SO THAT MORE NIGERIANS CAN GAIN ACCESS INTO THE INSTITUTION?
These are societal problems and we all know that in every society some have and some don’t and it’s a divine arrangement. So there’s no way we can say that everyone must have the same kind of education. It’s not our making. We are only a part of a sector in a system. For scholarships, we encourage federal, state and local governments as well as private organizations to give scholarships to deserving students. People, particularly in the north have to understand that higher education is not free especially in the private system and education is not expenditure but an investment. So, if you invest small, you reap little and if you invest much, you reap bountifully. That’s how it works. There are families who think that one million naira is too much to pay for tuition fees but will spend ten-fifteen times of that for a ceremony. What’s the point in spending ten-fifteen million naira on a girl you have refused to educate?
AS A LAWMAKER, WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND ASUU IN RELATION TO THE SIGNED AGREEMENTS AND PROPOSED STRIKE?
I’m not a party to the signed agreements but I know agreements do exist but I do not know the fine points. But as a general point, I will say that both parties should live up to their responsibilities in the signed agreement.
SOME PERSONS HAVE ALLEGED THAT PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES ARE DUMPING GROUNDS FOR STUDENTS WHO DID NOT ATTAIN UP TO FIVE CREDITS IN THEIR SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATES. WHAT THEN IS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IN TERMS OF O’ LEVELS AND JAMB SCORES?
That is not true and cannot be true with Baze University. Like I told you, our admission system is a very transparent one and we have clear guidelines from NUC and JAMB. The standard requirements is five credits to include mathematics and English and a minimum of 180 from JAMB and we go strictly on that and we don’t discriminate. If they fall short, the best we can do is to enrol them into foundation and it is not a degree programme in that case.
WHAT POSSIBLE WAYS CAN THE GOVERNMENT SEPARATE EDUCATION FROM POLITICS?
If the government cannot separate the two, there is no way the education sector can improve, particularly in the aspect of procurement of works and services .everything from government has to be over inflated. Appointments are usually based on political sentiments. They have their bureaucracies all the same but are mostly laced with politics. Even VCs are highly politicized and by so doing, the dean, HOD, the procurement and enrolment of students among others will be politicized.
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