The Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU) has identified lack of political will and unstable leadership as the biggest challenges confronting the Nigerian University System.
This was the submission of ARNU at the end of its 19th Annual Retreat and 76th Business Meeting held at Elizade University Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State with the theme: “Navigating the Challenging Terrain of University Administration in Nigeria: Retrospection into the Future”
The Registrars, who noted decline in the nation’s university system over the past decades, stressed the need to introduce innovative ideas that would advance the frontiers of higher education administration in the country.
The ARNU in its communique issued at the end of the retreat noted that the challenges facing Nigerian Universities are multi-faceted in nature and university managers must evolve peculiar ways of addressing them.
According to the Registrars, the key elements for addressing the challenges in the Nigerian University System must be to focus on strategic planning, ensuring financial independence through diversification of revenue streams.
They stated that this should be in collaboration with the private sector and actualising the vision of the Universities through quality research and innovations.
The communique reads, “Poor governance and unstable leadership were identified as bedeviling the Nigerian University System; and to address the problems, Universities must evolve sustainable development goals that would ensure optimal performance.
“Government and University leaders or managers are advised to build consensus and employ the use of mediation and collaborative decision making as veritable instruments of mitigating crises in the Nigerian University System.
“Funding University Education in Nigeria should therefore be a multi-stakeholders’ business in order for the universities to attain their mandate and global competitiveness”
“Universities must forge partnerships with industries and Government Agencies, ensure policy commitment and robust opportunities for research and innovation to improve educational quality and sustainable national development and growth.
“Registrars must continue to play the stabilising roles by steering the affairs of Universities away from crisis. An effective Registry is a key driver to University success.
‘Registrars as facilitators in the University system must be on top of their jobs; be dynamic, cautious and creative so as to innovate administrative processes for better service delivery in the 21st Century University Administration.
“Professional positions such as Academic Planning Director of ICT etc, in the University should be reserved for professionals in the field” the communique stated.
The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, (NUC) Mr. Chris Maiyaki who delivered goodwill messages to the association, admonished registrars, as the custodians of university rules and regulations to always be on top of their jobs.
He commended them for their pivotal roles in University governance, saying “Our universities produce not only products with the requisite skill sets to drive the economy, but, also, most importantly, to engage in research and innovation for socio-economic development.
He said this will go a long way to transform the nation’s economy from resource-driven to knowledge-driven while facing the challenges of globalization.
