The Vice-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, Prof. Sunday Oge Elom has disclosed that government alone cannot adequately fund university education in the country, stressing that cost-sharing option involving all stakeholders in the system is the sure way to pool funds together for the sustainable development of our universities.
The VC stated this during the 10th matriculation ceremony of the university to admit freshmen into the institution for the 2021/2022 academic session.
He said: “The Nigerian University System is facing serious challenges especially in the area of funding, which has led to incessant industrial actions by university-based staff unions, notably the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). It is my sincere belief that government alone cannot adequately fund university education in Nigeria.
“We need a cost-sharing approach to the funding of our universities involving the stakeholders – government, university management, parents/guardians and organized private sector to make positive impact in the system.
“I therefore use this opportunity to appreciate the parents/guardians of our students for their various contributions through the AE-FUNAI Parents’ Forum, to the infrastructural development of the university since 2016 when the forum was inaugurated. May I also solicit for their continued partnership as we strive to build a university we all will be proud of”?
On the matriculation event, Prof. Elom said, “4, 656 freshmen are joining our dynamic university. I am particularly excited about this year’s ceremony because the freshmen are joining us at a time the university has adopted Blended Learning in the discharge of its academic activities. Blended Learning is a combination of face-to-face and online methodologies of teaching and learning. As a university we are prepared to move with the changing times by adopting the use of technologies in our learning experience.
“As the VC of this university, I envision a world-class campus, where management, staff and students work together as one team in an atmosphere that meets global best practices. I therefore call on everyone to join hands with me to make this dream a reality
“The focus of the university is to imbue in our students the hard and soft skills as well as the functional knowledge to be relevant and resourceful in a 21st century knowledge-based economy. I assure you of our utter commitment to that mandate.
Continuing, the VC added, “We do not also neglect the importance of God in shaping the destinies of our students. We sincerely believe that the next generation of Nigerians cannot be trained in a spiritual vacuum. This underscores the reason we commence every academic year with university-wide interdenominational church service and Jumm’at prayers, where we commit our university, the staff and students into the hands of God
Addressing the new students, Elom said, “Be informed that AE-FUNAI has zero tolerance for cultism, examination malpractices, indecent dressing, bullying, ‘sorting’, campus prostitution/sex-for-grades and other forms of misconducts, and we do not hesitate to sanction offenders accordingly. I therefore charge you to be focused on your studies and avoid anything that will derail your sojourn in the University.
“Adhere strictly to the rules and regulations as encapsulated in the Students Handbook. I wish to assure you of adequate security on campus. We, however, plead with you not to hesitate to report any suspicious activities to the Dean of Students’ Affairs, security officers or any staff of the University for immediate action.”
Elom further implored the matriculating students to show respect to their fellow students and staff of the university as well as members of the host community to make their stay fruitful and worthwhile, adding that the university will continue to strive to improve on the existing facilities on campus even as he urged them to take adequate care of the university property to avoid damage, as they were put in place for their good.