Don wants FG to scrap JAMB, NUC

A University Don, Prof. John Okpako Enaowho
yesterday stunned his audience in Asaba where he
submitted that the National University Commission
(NUC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation
Board (JAMB) were causing retrogression in the
education sector.
Enaowho who delivered a lecture titled ‘Formal
Planning Development in Nigeria Education: The
Paradox of Autonomy and Dependence’ at the opening
of a two-day education summit by Delta State
Government urged the Federal Government to scrap
NUC and JAMB.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port
Harcourt opined that the principle of true federalism
should also be applied in the administration of tertiary
institutions of the country.
He condemned the centralization powers of NUC and
JAMB, stating that by scrapping JAMB, universities
can admit as many students as possible to enable
them generate money to operate independently.
He cited the United States of America which has eight
of the best ten universities in the world that have free
hands to operate, adding that education should be
removed from the shoulders of the federal government
as it has so much at hand.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Afe Babalola, (SAN)
who was represented by Prof. Isreal Aruboloye of Afe
Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, suggested that
members of the public should be encouraged to
endow university for research and also assist indigent
students.
The erudite lawyer was of the view that missionary
schools should also be encouraged by federal and
State governments to establish institutions where
morals and characters are given a pride of place.
In his key note address, educationist and Professor
Emeritus, Prof. Pai Obayan said the nation’s
educational policy has been faulty for a long time.
On funding, Prof. Obayan queried the huge investment
by federal and state governments on education,
adding that the cost of maintaining bureaucracy was
more than what was spent on classroom and training
teachers.
Declaring the summit open, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
said the summit was to examine, evaluate and re-
engineer the educational system in the state with
emphasis on teaching excellence, innovation, better
learning outcomes, community involvement and social
transformation.