The immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Emeritus Is-haq Oloyede, has lamented that many Nigerian parents no longer regard universities as “ivory towers” but as asylums where they send their children after losing control over them.
Oloyede said some parents now see universities as places where their children can be kept away from home, explaining that this was why many became anxious whenever universities were closed.
“Parents have turned the university into an asylum because they have lost control of their children. That is why they are always afraid when the universities are closed,” he said.
The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin also criticised university teachers and administrators for being unnecessarily harsh towards students during their academic programmes.
According to him, such treatment has contributed to the reluctance of many successful graduates to return to their alma mater or support its development.
“That is why they don’t answer when you are calling on alumni. They don’t want to come back because they hate you,” Oloyede said.
He spoke at the 37th Annual General Assembly and Conference of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), held at the University of Ilorin.
The conference was themed, “Building Resilient Universities for Nigeria.”
Oloyede, who delivered a keynote address titled, “Reimagining Nigerian Universities for Resilience: Leadership, Innovation and Sustainability in a Disruptive Era,” also expressed concern over the failure of Nigerian elites, including academics, to do enough to address the country’s numerous challenges.
“It appears those of us who are educated are failing the nation,” he said.
Citing the Boko Haram insurgency as an example, the Professor of Islamic Studies argued that academics must do more to engage with society beyond the confines of the classroom.
“Those who are not educated are becoming more relevant than us, and it is because we limit ourselves to the classrooms,” he said.
Oloyede further questioned why Islamic scholars and academics had not done more to counter extremist ideologies and prevent the indoctrination of young people.
He urged universities and academics to rethink their approach and become more actively involved in addressing social problems and shaping society.
“We need a relook at what we are doing,” he stated.
