Moses Kembe, Vice Chancellor, Benue State University (BSU), has called on the Federal Government to resolve lingering issues responsible for incessant strikes by university lecturers.

“The Federal Government should resolve all lingering issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to ensure stability of academic calendar in public universities; the strikes are becoming too often and certainly not good for quality education,” Kembe said on Tuesday in Makurdi.

Kembe, in an interaction with newsmen to mark his third year in office, regretted that the frequency of strikes by public universities was affecting the enrollment of international students and hampering academic programs.

According to him, most students are unable to complete their academic courses within the stipulated time.

“The Federal Government needs to find a middle-of-the-road approach in ending the persistent strikes by public universities. Students come into a four-year programme, but end up spending more years on campus.

“This has to end to save our universities; as it is, the private universities are reaping fat from the strikes since their academic programs are not hampered.”

He also appealed to philanthropists to donate buildings to the university to address its deficits in hostel accommodation.

“The undergraduate student population of the university alone is about 25,000; when you add the post-graduate population of about 5,000, you get a figure of 30,000. Problem is, only five percent of this number can be accommodated on campus.”

He said that the student population had grown rapidly from 5,000 in 1992 to about 30,000, pointing out that such growth was beyond the capacity of the university’s residential accommodation.

The vice chancellor said that the hotels and commercial houses that were around the school environment were too expensive for the students to rent, and urged entrepreneurs to assist the university by building hostels for students.

“They can assist the students by building hostels or even lecture theatres for the school. The government cannot do it all alone.”

He also announced that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), had rescinded its ban on the school from mobilizing its students for the one year mandatory national service on account of malpractices.

“Several interventions from Nigerians across different strata made the body to lift the ban,” he said. (NAN)

– Nov. 6, 2018 @ 18:29 GMT |