Unless the governments of Osun and Oyo, joint owners of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), urgently address myriads of problems confronting it, the university may sink deeper into crisis.
LAUTECH is fast losing its seasoned academics due to what is referred to as "inconducive and harsh working environment," by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Chairman LAUTECH chapter, Dr Oyebamiji Oyegoke.
He said young lecturers and other non-academic staff use the university as a stepping stone for greener pastures. The Nation's investigations can reveal that teaching and non-teaching staff are quitting in many departments. The university is run by an acting vice-chancellor Prof Taofeek Gbadegesin, without a Governing Council.
Said Oyegoke:"The quantum of funding is not what they (owner state governments) are giving the university. LAUTECH is augmenting payment of salaries. A situation whereby you want the university to generate revenue internally, you are likely to compromise standard."
He said the university has not done anything to motivate, or assist the academics, adding that whatever breakthroughs or achievements it had were through individual sacrifices.
According to him, "Imagine a professor spending his money to build a penthouse in the institution, for the experimentation of animals. Whose responsibility is it? It will also interest you to know that LAUTECH has no pension scheme; so, where lies the future of the academics after they might have meritoriously served the institution? We are greatly losing competent and experienced academics in this institution.”
Oyegoke explained that ASUU is in support of the government's decision to appoint a new VC, adding that the dissolved Governing Council must be reinstated before anything else was done.
"We reminded the owner state governments, in our letter to them that the position of acting vice chancellor is anachronistic, and not the trend in modern day university. The right thing is for the university to be run by a robust governing council, which is yet to be in place.”
We also told the governments that anything short of this is unconstitutional, null and void. We wrote the two governments appreciating their decision on joint ownership. Our stand is based on the objectives of ASUU, which is to uphold truth, justice, fairness and equity." -THE NATION
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