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.