A traverse through sorry faces of Bayero University, Kano

On passing through the gate of the main campus called the new site, the beautiful flowers will attract the new comer, as if all is well. However, the condition of other infrastructure will certainly paint a different picture altogether. The cool atmosphere on the main site will surely paint a rosy picture for someone who […]

On passing through the gate of the main campus called the new site, the beautiful flowers will attract the new comer, as if all is well. However, the condition of other infrastructure will certainly paint a different picture altogether.

The cool atmosphere on the main site will surely paint a rosy picture for someone who is not curious enough to dig more into other aspects, where the situation is not worth writing home about.

To buttress this point a 200 level student who has been in the institution for three years, having undergone a diploma course, Bashir Muhammad, said there are even worse things in the university. He said that one can imagine, for example, there are no toilets for students in the new campus, unless one goes back to the hostels.

Hamisu Umar, a lecturer, believes that for the university to progress, there is need for well equipped laboratories which are not as expected in the old campus that houses the science and medical faculties. He says universities should invest more in science and technology which has more   solutions, especially in the eradication of poverty.

In the industrial chemistry laboratory, he cites examples of courses which are in dire need of equipment, but which unfortunately are not available. His words, “ without these,  the students will have no idea of what you are talking about and even the lecturers like myself,  I sometimes  have to travel to other measurement centres. This leads to researches conducted here to be mainly on heavy metals because it is one of the only available equipment around.

According to Dr Abdullahi Baffa who chairs the Academic Staff Union (ASUU), most of the infrastructure in BUK were the same structures used for more than a decade   and the number of students intake has doubled several times. He says in the old campus, the same theaters used to lecture some few hundred science students are still the same used when thousands are taken in now. He argues that with more than 80 ,000 applicants for a slot of just about 5000,  there is need for  the union to fight ,  hence the industrial action embarked by the lecturers recently.

Dr Baffa said the universities are underfunded as far as the UNESCO standard is concerned, which requires a progressive increase to a minimum of 26 % of annual budget to be allocated to education.

Bashir Mustapha, a level 300 student of political science, says the university is in a sorry state, especially with the maintenance of hostels and common rooms a forgotten issue. He laments that despite the increase in school fees, there are little changes with regards to the students’ hostels.

The people doing business also have their own story. Abba Bala who owns a small store   near Ramat Hall which is the female hostel, is worried when authorities of the university asked them to shift their little things to the remote area behind coke village. But he believes even if the relocation of the traders is for good, they should be assured of their new place.

He says, “we are in fear that one day, we will be moved further again to the bushy side and perhaps, our customers will find it difficult to trek down there”.

Electricity supply to the university is an amalgam of the power from the mains and standby generator, which is switched between the   university staff quarters and the school premises. A canteen owner who prefers to remain anonymous, said the university is not addressing the power problem with consideration for the business community in it and some have resorted to purchasing generators since electricity supply cannot be assured.

Aisha Abu who is a diploma student, is of the view that the university is a strict environment with social activities reduced to nothing, as the students are operating   in a stressed way with little recreation. She feels such things like variety of sports equipment would at least keep more students busy. But it seems the sports directorate is much concerned with football, mainly dominated by males and so other sports are left to suffer.

The libraries are also not without their peculiar dilemma, as a student who will not want his name mentioned, complained that the libraries, both the main ones and the departmental ones, are filled with old books.

The university maintains an old campus like some universities, while having its main site expanded and   at times, the administration seems to be tough and difficult, according to Nasiru who works as a non academic staff. He also noted that the welfare of the staff is not being catered for, hence the non performing attitude of many. If the government would not be more serious, then the universities would continue to degenerate, he insists.