Cursory Look At The Rots In Federal University Otuoke

By Amos Okioma
LAGOS OCTOBER 11TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The Federal University, Otuoke was created in 2010 alongside others across the country during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan with a view to addressing the educational gap confronting Bayelsans when compared with their counterparts in other states of the federation a few years ago.
For the eight years the institution has been in existence, some stakeholders have posited in various fora that the institution is still a toddler among the comity of universities in the country. This invariably informed the reason why they are are clamouring for a complete overhaul and transformation of the citadel of learning in line with international best practices.
In view of this, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Teddy Charles Adias while speaking with newsmen in his office pin-pointed some of the infrastructural deficit hindering academic activities which include the over bloated non- academic staff that is twice that of the academic staff. According to him, the University community is expected to have more academic staff because the university is an institution where academic activities are more pronounced but in the case of the institution under review, the reverse is the case.
The erudite professor also said that there are quite a number of abandoned projects being undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). In his view, if these projects are completed, it will definitely go a long way in boosting concrete academic activities in the school which will, in the long run lead to production of full-fledged graduates from the school.
He therefore appealed to the authorities concerned to expedite action towards the completion of these projects for the overall development of not only the school but also Bayelsa state as a whole.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Seth Accra Jaja corroborated the assertion of the Deputy Vice Chancellor as he explained that the basic challenge confronting and militating against smooth academic activities of the university is the political will of stakeholders in the education sector to arrest the infrastructural problems of the school.
He pointed out that the administrative block where his office and those of the management staff are located is being threatened owing largely to the claim by their host community to pay a whooping and unrealistic N4 million for the land annually. According to him, all efforts aimed at calming frayed nerves as regards the threat has proved abortive.
The Vice Chancellor further made a comparative analysis between the university and others that were created at the same time and revealed that the institution is still far from assuming the status of a full blown citadel of learning basically because of infrastructural deficit.
Prof. Jaja reiterated that this infrastructural gap has accounted for the reason why academic activities are at their lowest ebb as there are no lecture theaters, inadequate engineering and science courses laboratories for practical which are crucial for the award of degrees in these courses to graduates of the school. In addition, there are no staff quarters, a situation that has made him to always travel from Port-harcourt, Rivers State to the school on a daily basis.
On this note, he therefore called on all relevant authorities to as a matter of utmost importance, look into the plight of the institution and do the needful so as to raise the standard and quality of education being given to the under-graduates of the school. This will, in his view, positively affect the socio-economic and political development of the country as a whole.
Amatari Ebizimor, a stakeholder in the education sector in the state who spoke in line with the assertion of the Vice Chancellor emphasized that education remains the bedrock and the catalyst for a robust economy all over the world, insisting that the Federal University, Otuoke must be given priority attention in terms of infrastructural development
One of the high-points of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which later culminated into Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG) is qualitative education and if the much-cherished technological and socio-economic advancement is to be achieved, it is therefore pertinent for all educational institutions to adhere strictly to the recommendations of SDGs

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