Tertiary Education Commission: JAC Urges Makinde to Reconsider Decision, Withdraw Bill
Following the proposed establishment of the Oyo State Tertiary Education Commission, the Joint Action Committee representing all unions in tertiary institutions has appealed to Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde to reconsider this decision.
The Chairman of the Committee, Comrade Olusegun Oyewumi, who stated this during a press conference held at the Polytechnic, Ibadan on Wednesday, said certain provisions in the bill may impede efficient functioning of the institutions.
The committee believes that such a move would lead to the duplication of functions already managed by various institutions’ Governing Councils rendering them redundant.
JAC is specifically requesting the withdrawal of the Executive Bill currently under legislative scrutiny in the state assembly to allow for broader consultations and robust engagement by critical stakeholders.
According to JAC, critical looka at the proposed functions of the Commission reveals many certain anomalies which include:
Duplication of Functions: The proposed functions of the commission appear to overlap with the roles and responsibilities already assigned to the Governing Councils of various tertiary institutions in the state.
Establishing the commission in its current form would effectively legalize the usurpation of powers vested in the Governing Councils.
Erosion of Autonomy: Tertiary institutions are meant to operate independently, yet the commission threatens to erode their autonomy by centralizing control. This contradicts global best practices and may hinder academic freedom and innovation.
Suffocation of Sector: The commission’s broad mandate could suffocate the tertiary education sector with excessive regulation and bureaucracy, hindering effective management and decision-making within institutions.
Resource Misallocation: Establishing the commission risks wasting state resources on a redundant entity, as the roles it seeks to fulfill are already enshrined in existing laws governing each institution and actively managed by the Governing Councils.
Redundancy of Directorates: Many of the proposed directorates of the commission replicate functions already performed by various institutions and supervisory agencies like the NUC, NBTE, and NCCE. This raises doubts about the added value the commission would bring.
Resistance to External Influence: JAC is wary of repeating the mistakes of past interventions, such as the disruptive influence of Leviathan-like Platinum consultants. We must ensure that any commission does not undermine the authority of management and Governing Councils.
National Regulation of Tertiary Education: The regulation of Tertairy education in Nigeria is an exclusive function of the various regulatory agencies like NUC, NBTE, NCCE etc.
This idea of having a parallel commission is a duplication and it runs parallel and contrary to the normal academic practice. This ideal will amount to useless duplication and unnecessary wastage of government resources.
JAC press conference statement further reads:
“JAC strongly advocates for a reassessment of the Commission’s structure and functions, suggesting a model similar to the Ministry of Tertiary Education in Lagos State for effective oversight.
“A close look and analysis of the structure and functions of “The Ministry of Tertiary Education” in Lagos State shows a structure that will aid the growth of the institutions in the state rather than the present structure and functions being advocated in the proposed bill of the Oyo State commission.
“Establishing the Commission in its current form could lead to confusion, create anarchy and diminish the quality of tertiary education in Oyo State, undermining your government efforts to advance education development in the state.
” We respectfully urge Your Excellency to reconsider this bill and withhold its passage, ensuring a more thorough review by key stakeholders to align with best practices and avoid potential harm to our institutions.
“We equally want to seeze this opportunity to seek for the promised audience of His Excellency as soon as possible to discuss serious festering issues of concern in our sector that its agitation in currently becoming unmanageable inorder to forestall crises in the tertiary education sector of the state.”