Re: Emerging threats to the survival of Yar’adua University
It is therefore out of point for someone with poor knowledge of the development trend in Katsina State, especially the government’s commitment to the provision of quality university education, to accuse the Shema administration of neglecting the very institution he helped to establish. The publication by one Abdullahi Umar Shaiskawa in Weekly Trust of Saturday, […]
It is therefore out of point for someone with poor knowledge of the development trend in Katsina State, especially the government’s commitment to the provision of quality university education, to accuse the Shema administration of neglecting the very institution he helped to establish.
The publication by one Abdullahi Umar Shaiskawa in Weekly Trust of Saturday, August 21, 2010 page 39, entitled “Emerging Threats to the Survival of Yar’adua University” was unfounded and malicious. For anyone who has been following the development programmes of Governor Shema in Katsina State, and who read the uninformed article, the state university does not appear to be under any threat of collapse or being closed down.
It is true that in Nigeria, many political leaders do not believe in building on the solid foundation laid by their predecessors, but Governor Shema is not definitely one of such leaders as the writer has alleged in the publication. In fact, since he took over as the governor of the state, Governor Shema has completed the university, funded it and has kept all the promises made to it at its establishment. How could the writer say the Katsina State government has not spent much on capital projects in the state university? How did the entire infrastructure in the university come about?
The Katsina state education intervention is about the best in the country as acknowledged by UBEC for declaring it the winner of its awards for 2009/ 2010. It is on record in Katsina State that the education sector witnessed a total overhaul within the last three years with specific target projects aimed at advancing the quality of education in the state. The completion of the state university by Governor Shema is one of the most exquisite achievements of his administration. Over 11 billion naira was expended to complete infrastructural projects on the campus, equip, furnish and conduct personnel training and accreditation of the university staff.
To further consolidate its education vision, the state government commissioned Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU) on March 19, 2009 at its permanent site in Katsina. The university with three faculties including education, arts and social sciences and applied sciences with 13 departments gulped 11.6 billion naira in its first phase. Subsequently, 6.3 billion was voted for its second phase expansion. By this, Katsina State is being strategically positioned to vie for honours among the educationally advanced states of the federation.
The writer, again, showed his level of ignorance when he said that the only new project Governor Shema had added to the establishment of the university was the construction of the convocation arena which he described as white elephant project. The publication clearly showed that the writer did not know what he was talking about. If he was looking for a way to accuse the governor of failure, he should keep out education. That is not debatable. He should ask the parents of the school children.
Perhaps, the writer was trying to talk about the demand by the state university lecturers for salary increase, but could not adequately drive home his message because he lacked facts. Umaru Musa Yar’adua University is a state institution, and as such is owned and controlled by the state government. It is strictly run on the resources of the state. There is no way an agreement signed by Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will be morally and legally binding on state universities, especially as regard funding and salary structure.
How does the writer expect the state government to pay the Consolidated University Salary Scale I (CONTUASS I) in view of the present economic situation? Even the Federal Government is yet to implement the agreement it signed with ASUU regarding the consolidated salary structure. The Shema administration should rather be commended for increasing the salary of the state university lecturers by 50 per cent. How many state governments have taken such giant step in their state universities? If there are, it is a pity that the writer of the article failed to mention them.
Governor Shema has so far lived to the expectation and aspirations of his late predecessor and the good people of Katsina State. He has not deviated from the motive and objectives of setting up UMYU. He has demonstrably remained committed to funding UMYU, most especially that the institution immortalizes late President Yar’adua and his immense contributions to the development of the Katsina State and Nigeria at large. The writer said all when he said that the first NUC accreditation team that visited the university in 2008 could not hide their satisfaction with the high standard set by the school.
Halilu wrote from 10, Yarinchi Quarters,
Katsina