Varsities are theatres for research, not war – KWASU VC

Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, the Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University, Malete, says universities are theatres for research and not platforms to wage war against government.

Na’Allah stated this on Monday while delivering his address of welcome at the 32nd conference of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) hosted by KWASU.

Our correspondent reports that the conference has as theme: “21st Century University Education in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges.’’

The vice chancellor said waging war against government in the guise of strike often affects the nation’s youths the more.

“Everyday, lecturers are ready to go on strike. University closure can never be a solution to our problems.

“The so-called gains of our children are lost and these youths are the ones that go outside the country to excel in other people’s lands,’’ he said.

Na’Allah also warned universities against over reliance on government for funding.

He called on them to be proactive and develop synergy with industries in research and technological innovations.

Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara said the state government had ensured that the university continued to grow and progress even though it was less than a decade old.

Ahmed, who was represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Dr Amina Ahmed, urged the association to ensure universities promote real research.

Prof. Debo Adeyewa, the Chairman of AVCNU, said that there were myriad of issues confronting the nation’s tertiary education.

He urged members of the group to evolve solutions that would address the problems of paucity of finance, deficit of knowledge infrastructure as well as governance and policy inconsistency challenges.