Dutsin-ma University conducts employee audit
Transitioning into leadership position comes with some exclusive issues. What challenges did you face when you took over as the VC? Some of the teething problems on ground since my appointment as VC have to do with poor power supply. Our average monthly overhead grant from the Federal Government is between N3 and N4 million […]
Transitioning into leadership position comes with some exclusive issues. What challenges did you face when you took over as the VC?
Some of the teething problems on ground since my appointment as VC have to do with poor power supply. Our average monthly overhead grant from the Federal Government is between N3 and N4 million while we spend about N6m on diesel every month because most of the time we run on generators. Moreover, our permanent site is yet to be connected to the national grid. We also have inadequate water supply although it is not peculiar to this school as it also affects the host community. There was the problem of dwindling revenue due to decline in federal allocation and there are also a lot of complaints, petitions mostly from staff, community and so on.
You met a number of complaint letters against the management. What are you doing in terms of addressing the grievances raised therein?
No sooner had I settled down than I started receiving complaints and petitions directed to the Vice Chancellor, pertaining improper placement or salary adjustments. I tried my best to see that I address them administratively within my powers as the Vice Chancellor but I later found out that there are chains of other issues so I was compelled to take the matters to the University Governing Council and made a submission to them.
The council accepted my memo and a staff audit panel was commissioned to look at the complaints mostly on staff recruitment and establishment, termination of appointments and so on.
Don’t you think people will perceive this to be a witch hunt against your predecessor?
The complaints and petitions were against the last administration. We do not have the intention to do anything illegal. We will follow due process. There are laid down rules and regulations in the Civil Service and if you follow them, the complaints were about admissions and staff recruitment and there are guidelines stipulating what should be done. There is a clear statement concerning admission of students on merit, catchment area or location and then a certain percentage for educationally disadvantaged states. This is a government policy and we are going to follow it strictly. The audit committee was given terms of reference to find out if all appointments followed due process, and if there were certain breaches or infractions. If an appointment follows the due process, nobody can do anything about it but if an appointment did not follow the due process, the institution has the right to ensure that the situation is remedied and there are rules to follow to address such infractions. For any appointment that followed the due process, nobody will tamper with it.
How far has the audit committee gone with its work?
The committee is yet to submit its report so I cannot say how many staff do not have appointments based on the due process. We expect the audit committee to come up with a situation report on the matter. For anybody to occupy any position he has to have certain requirements and if that person fulfills all the requirements, he is okay but if not, his appointment cannot be said to be okay as it breaches existing guidelines. It is left to the council to look at the degree of deviation and determine what to do. It is the degree of breach that matters and not the number.
Work at the university’s permanent site is yet to be concluded. At what stage is the work and what efforts are you making about it?
The ultimate aim is to move to the permanent site but there are certain things that tend to inhibit us from relocating to the permanent site. The first one is security. It may interest you to know that we share borders with the infamous Rugu Forest which is infested with cattle rustlers, armed robbers and other armed bandits. We share direct border with that forest. I will not suggest movement to the permanent site without ensuring adequate security for staff and students there. We do not want to have a repeat of the Chibok incident. I visited the permanent site and assessed the security situation. I sent a letter to the Inspector-General of Police stating the precarious position of the campus. He replied to our letter and requested the Katsina State Commissioner of Police to send his men to assess the situation at the permanent site. They have done that and we are waiting for their report. But before we move there, there has to be a detachment of security men to establish a buffer between the school and the forest. We need the presence of armed security men there.
At the moment, there is no single laboratory structure there. The office blocks that were supposed to have been completed in 2013 are yet to be furnished. Most of the ingredients required for us to move are not there and they require several billions of naira. Like I said earlier, the place is yet to be connected to the national grid. If we spend N6 million every month on diesel here, what do you expect us to spend at the permanent site which is a mega structure. We also need a perimeter fence for the site. The size of the school is 5.2 kilometers by 2.3 kilometers in land mass. Water supply is also an issue there. Government has appropriated N453 million as part of our capital grant. N250 million is for the provision of water at the permanent site, N138 million for road network and drainage and about N50 million for roofing of hostels. We are yet to receive anything from the appropriation.