1>>Professor Igbekele Ajibefun is the Vice-
Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University,
Akungba Akoko, Ondo State. He talks about
the challenges facing higher education among
other issues with PETER DADA How has it
been serving as the Vice-Chancellor of
Adekunle Ajasin University in the last two
years? The last two years have been
challenging but also rewarding in the sense
that we have been able to make progress on
what I met on the ground. On assumption of
duty, I promised to build on that and I want to
say that God has been helping me to do that
to move the university forward.
There have been challenges, especially in the
area of finances, but we have been able to
cope and the government has been able to
give immense support to ensure that the
university makes progress. What is your take
on the conflicting policies about admission
into universities in Nigeria? I see Nigeria as an
unserious country where things are done
wrongly and you see people agitating that they
should continue to do it that way.
These days, everybody is qualified to enter the
university because there is no Post-Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination. I was at
Abuja for a meeting of VCs. We met at the
National Universities Commission and the road
to the venue was blocked by youths carrying
placards with the inscription, “Cancel Post-
UTME.’’
People prefer to take certificates without even
going to the university. Our system is bad and
unserious. We know what is right and we will
never do it and you will see people agitating
for the wrong thing. The National Assembly
approved that JAMB result should last for three
years. If a candidate doesn’t read anything, it
means that the knowledge the candidate
acquired three years ago without going to
school is still the same. It will destroy the
university system.
People want free things. They don’t want to
make effort. There is a belief that students in
private universities are doing well academically
than their counterparts in public universities.
