Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Vice Chancellor, Benue State University (BSU), Prof. Msugh Kembe, had lamented that the ‘incessant’ strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was crippling university education in the country.
The vice chancellor stated this, on Tuesday, when he relayed host to the state executive council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its acting chairman, Mr. Kajo Martins. He regretted that the incessant industrial action was already affecting academic calendar of universities.
“Let me emphasis here that due to ongoing strike by ASUU, we have asked our students to go back home and this will surely truncate academic calendar of the university.”
Kembe who posited that one of the requirements for assessing standards in universities is the presence of foreign students in the country universities lamented that private universities were enjoying the patronage of foreign students than public universities.
“The random strike is causing a lot of disservice to Nigerian Universities because in one of the requirements of assessing the standard of the university is the presence of foreign students.
“For instance, when a student is coming from Ghana to study in Nigeria, let us say for two years course, he is expected to to spend the two years and go away but this is no longer the case, this is causing disservice to the universities, particularly, the public universities.
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Prof. Kembe, however, called on Federal Government to resolve its issues with the ASUU so as to save tertiary institutions from academic decadence.
The Vice Chancellor also announced the take off of the degree program in nursing beginning from the next session.
He explained further that the suspension of prospective graduates from the university by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had been lifted and graduates from the university had already been mobilized to participate in the next batch of the scheme commencing in a few days time.
Earlier in a remark, the NUJ acting Chairman acknowledged the good relationship between the BSU management and the media in the state and appealed for its sustenance.