- I will ensure IMSU medical college gets accreditation in the first 6 months under my watch
- I will ensure that Admissions in IMSU will strictly by merit
- I won’t condole sex-grade among lecturers
IN THIS INTERVIEW, the Imo state university (IMSU) new Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Peter Achinike Akah speaks to Ibe Pascal Arogorn, a reporter with crimefacts.news as he promised to bring much desired difference in the institution.
It is an unspoken consensus that academic standards have fallen in IMSU over the years, how would you tackle this forward?
Academic standards have fallen not only in IMSU but through Nigeria, there’s is no mistake about that.
I am a product of University of Nigeria Nsuka (UNN), why ASUU has being on strike for the past 9 months is for the single reason that academic standards is falling everyday. I have been a professor for about 26 yesrs, when I came to where I am now, we don’t have a class that is more than 70 students in a class, now is there’s no class in pharmacy that is less than 350, that is from year 1 to year 5 .
The sane facilities/tools used in 1970s are still being used today, the point is that academic standard has fallen not only in IMSU but in all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. But i will tell you the reason before I get into solution, the reason is “poor funding” .
I have gone through series of report in IMSU both the visitation panel IMSUTH even NUC report, all of them have one problem which is poor funding.
So what I am saying is that with adequate funding of universities, my brother honestly academic standard will pick up. There’s no magic about that. The government need to fund the university well, provide basic infrastructures.
Well , I met with governor and I have given him my seven point agenda and one of them include that admission of new students must be based strictly on merit and standard. So there will be no admitting students who aren’t qualified. Not even my brother, my sister even my son will not get admission in IMSU without merit, I don’t care, I am not interested .
Even if you start with 10 qualified medical students in IMSU, you will see the difference, It is not all corner affairs. I begin by admitting qualified students and that’s first assignment. I will have to reveal IMSU’s admission process and get the best of it.
I am not saying that lecturers, professors in IMSU are good like others in all tertiary institutions in Nigeria,, they are doing well.
To improve academic standards, staff welfare is important, because you won’t tell someone to go and teach without a good salary structure. If you improve staff welfare, staff morale, automatically productivity will also improve. So what I am saying is, admitting quality students and improving staff welfare will also help raise academic standards.
Several students are suffering under the weight of lost accreditations for their course in IMSU, Is their any hope for students especially medically students most of who has exceeded their study years?
The truth is, I have been part of IMSU medical school since 2005, I was instrumental to the first accreditation in 2007, I graduated the first 27 medical doctors in that school. I have been part of IMSU. I can tell you that I am Aldo a member of the visitation panel in IMSUTH .
I know the problems which involve accreditation, before me here I have the NUC report and the medical college, well let me say we that lost accreditation but I have to tell you if i going to IMSU, one of my objectives is to ensure that medical school gets accreditation in the first 6 months. That is the first thing i am going to table before the governor.
I am not also comfortable that students will spend 10 to 15 years for a 6 year course. If it is my son or yours , you know the psychological trauma of both the parents and students, I have made proposal but I won’t tell you what it is but I will ensure that this overstayed students are cleared within a minimum period of time. The strategy, I won’t tell you. I have already put action in motion but I won’t reveal it you now but honesty I am saddened by students who spend 10 years to read medicine, what are they reading ? So I have plans.
IMSU has recorded cases of sex-for-grade scandal. How would you address that malaise ?
I know that you are going to throw this question up, I am even sure that you have seen the viral sex video from the department of biochemistry in IMSU, I am sure you saw it.
Sincerely, I am a Christian, in fact, a born Catholic, like I told you I have been in academic for the past 40 years. There’s is no university in Nigeria (quote me) that will tell you that such things don’t happen. Of course you know the one that happened in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and good enough the government (Senate) has passed the anti sex bill, I won’t tell you what I want to do for now but in my meeting with the lecturers in IMSU, I will tell them that I am “a missionary on a mission, there will no second missionary”. I am not saint Paul but i am missionary.
Most Nigeria Universities even the best funded struggle with the issue of fund paucity. What innovative model are you going to adopt to generate more revenue for IMSU?
There is no magic ones in this country even the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) where I am, the only way to generate revenue there is from school fees, transcripts graduation and whatever. I am going to encourage people to write and get grants. Most varsities in southwest Nigeria survive on grants. Let me tell you the truth, getting good grants depend on the facilities you have , there’s is need for a good facility before asking fur millions of dollar grant. We still need to look into that very well.
Within the last two days, I have been speaking with University of Yale in New York USA, they have promised that as soon as I get into office, they will issue some grants to Imo state university ( IMSU) but I wouldn’t say we have gotten into that now.
Resuming office, we will try as much as we can by generating big revenue for IMSU but the governor will have to do his own part anyway.
The present governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has alleged mass corrupt practices in the institution especially among the authorities. How do you intend to tackle corruption in the varsity?
Where is the money to Launder I if I may ask ? There’s no even enough money in the institution. Let me tell you the truth, the first thing anybody will do to reduce corruption in a university is to digitized bursary system, digitized accounting system, that every payment in IMSU must be E-payment online. If you have a good digitized bursary unit, registry unit because where the problem is , people won’t have physical contact with money.
I am happy that government has TSA but in as much as TSA don’t operate well in the university because where you want to buy a Biro you go to the government to look for money is a different matter all the together. But i think the best approach to reduce corruption is digitized accounting system completely and have a proper audit unit.
They are human beings ,where did you think they are getting all money from, I am just wondering, the money they are misusing, where are they getting it from?. Is it from the government or the few ones they generated ? That’s the truth if you digitized accounting system, bursary system it is difficult to have leakages .
There have been speculations that upon the emergence of a new VC in IMSU that the school fees of Imo state indigenes will be raised higher than before. How true is it?
Honestly I don’t want to comment in this, it is a state affair and I am sure the governor has it idea but let me tell you, sincerely there no where in the world free education has worked exceedingly well. Go to the system and find out if it is working or not. I don’t like to change a working system but where the system is not working, you must try to find an alternative. The first thing you have to consider is school fees paid in Imo state university by indigenes and non indigenes, how does it compared with school fees paid by Ebonyi state indigenes in Ebonyi state university or Anambra indigenes in Anambra state university. How it is compared ? What’s the bench mark before you start making recommendation. It can either be reduced or increased depending on the government of day(state government). If governor decides that every indigene will pay nothing and I provide 100% logistics, then beautiful. So it depends on government really.
It is expected you will hit the ground running. What will be your first and major policy action?
I have told you my first policy action, I have to look at the teaching hospital and the medical school. That medical school is first, in fact Imo state university is the state university in Nigeria if you can still remember. Like I said, I was the foundation member of that medical school but I don’t know when you are in Umuna last,.if you go to Umuna, that place has been isolated. Anambra state started their medical school few years ago but their medical school is one the best now, Ebonyi state even Abia state that took off from Imo state. So I will tell the governor whenever I have opportunity to see him, “Sir let’s look at this medical school and see how we can turn around within the shortest time “. It is the burning zeal in me as well as anybody who thinks well of Imo state.
