From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has engaged the services of local hunters and vigilantes to complement the efforts of the conventional police and other security agents in a bid to secure its both campus, staff, students and other infrastructures in the school.
This, was perhaps, in response to recent invasion of the University staff quarters located along Abuja-Lokoja expressway, Giri, Abuja, by bandits which led to the kidnap of some staff of the University alongside some members of their families.
Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Mohammed Ahmed Modibbo, who disclosed the information at a retreat organised by the Governing Council for Principal Officers, Deans, Directors and the University-based unions at the weekend, in Abuja, added that the institution has also commenced a round-the-clock security patrol of the school to ensure the safety of staff and students of the school.
His words: “We have now mounted continuous 24 hours security patrol, not only within the campus and residential areas, but within perimeters fences of the university. We have also employed additional hunters and vigilantes to be patrolling in areas that are not fenced.”
He said the Governing Council was also working out plan to ensure decent accommodation for staff through the involvement of investors and other relevant bodies.
Speaking on the theme of the retreat : “Navigating Myriad of Challenges in Managing Universities in Today’s World,” Modibbo advocated innovative ways of enhancing additional funding for the institutions.
He said UniAbuja was making efforts to also partner several international organisations and foreign universities on alternative funding for the university.
“In the past few weeks, we have had one country Ambassador or the other visiting the university with proposals and opportunities. University of Abuja was recently selected to pilot some of the collaborations.
“For instance, the Netherland government want to establish a dairy research centre. We find it useful for the school. The Faculties of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture would leverage on it to promote research into veterinary challenges, into milk production, research into agriculture from China, from Netherlands so that they would now use our students.”
Modibbo, however, disclosed that over 10 cases of sexual harassment had been transferred to the university’s disciplinary committee and persons found guilty would be brought to book.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, commended the Governing Council for the retreat, stating that it was useful for the management staff of the University.
Prof. Na’Allah, however, expressed concerns over the negative practices that held sway in the University before his assumption of office, and the seeming resistance being put up by some staff in the quest to address the anomalies.
According to him, some of the hitherto challenges include absence of proper students record, sexual harassment, handling of senior academic staff courses by part-time lecturers, religious and ethnic agenda, among others.
Declaring the retreat open, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, charged universities to be more proactive to address their challenges, particularly in the area of sustainable funding.
Echono challenged participants at the retreat not to always depend on the government budget to run the university but look inward for alternative source of funding to keep the university going.
He further said that in the face of dwindling funding, unproductive courses not meant to be offered in the universities system need to be removed.