LASU News: As part of its efforts to permanently end the on-going crisis in the Lagos State University (LASU), the state House of Assembly has amended the institution’s law by making the tenure of the school’s Vice Chancellor to be a single term of five years.

The Bill for A Law To Amend The Lagos State University Law, 2004, which went through public hearing last week, has seven proposed amendments with the first section containing the amendment to the tenure of the Vice Chancellor.

Section 2 of the bill sought to amend Section 10 (subsection 2) of the original law and it will now read: “the Vice Chancellor shall exercise general supervision of the university in addition to any other functions conferred on or imposed on him by law, the Statute, Ordinance and Regulations and shall be subject to the approval of the Council, exercise general supervision over discipline in the university.

The bill also inserted a new Section 36 (1b) to now read: “the Senate shall recommend the minimum admission requirements to the Council in line with extant law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” while seeking to delete section 36 (subsection 3) of the original law.

The new section 40 of the law is to now read: “a residential policy for students shall be as may be determined by the Senate and in case of medical students in their clinical years, the provision of residence is mandatory.”

While the amendment proposes a single tenure of five years for the Vice Chancellor, it also proposes that the Pro-Chancellor and chairman of the Governing Council shall be appointed by the Visitor at his discretion.

According to the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi the essence of the amendment was to salvage the University’s incessant crisis.

Giving his opinion on the single term for the Vice Chancellor during the stakeholders’ meeting held at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium in the Assembly, Ogunyemi, allayed fears in some quarters that it could result in Vice Chancellors becoming autocratic or showing dictatorial tendencies. According to him, there are other formal ways to check any such excesses.

“The single-term tenure considered in Schedule 1 of the amendment is imperative because the institution, since its establishment, has been bedevilled by internal crisis, which were targeted at sitting Vice-Chancellors, who desire to seek a second term in office,” he noted.

He said that the amendment is aimed at enhancing the quality of education being discharged in the university and that it would assist in putting an end to the protracted leadership crisis that has rocked the state-owned tertiary institution.

‘Apart from this, the challenge affecting de-accreditation of courses in the institution would be considered,’ Ogunyemi said, adding that everyone must be on the same page in the quest to salvage the university from its multi-faceted problems.

In his view, the acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Fidelis Njekama, suggested that the institution should be given power to build hostels on campus at its discretion.

“As it is now, we can’t have hostels. Just permit us to build hostels,” he said.

Concerning the tenure of the Vice Chancellor, he reminded the gathering that such position is often occupied by a teaching staff and that there should be a way to recognise this so that a person occupying the position could return to classroom when his tenure ends.

Speaking through its Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU-LASU chapter, suggested that professors in the university should be allowed to retire at the age of 70 instead of the current age of 65 that operates in the school.

According to Idris, this is one of the reasons the institution has lost over 15 professors to other higher institutions.

He suggested that other principal officers of institutions enjoy a single term of five years each.

Listing six propositions, the ASUU chairman suggested that one law that should be considered by the House should be the Autonomy Act which has also been amended twice.

He also suggested that the Visitor should not be given the power to pick a Vice Chancellor.

He said that rather, the power should be vested in the Governing Council which would only inform the Visitor.

“The Governing Council would appoint the Vice Chancellor and it would be approved by the Visitor, the Governor of the state,” he said.

For Obafela Bankolema, Special Adviser to Governor Ambode on Education, “what we’ve presented here is the thought of the executive. This is the only university we have and we are not proud that they always engage in one crisis or the other.”

However, the House of Assembly approved the amended law of the university on the 31st of December 2015, while the inputs of the stakeholders were also considered.

It is the hope of the lawmakers that LASU would be better in 2016 and beyond so that the institution would regain its lost glory.

 

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