NUC suspension shocking, embarrassing – Varsities

Authorities of the  private universities whose operational licences were on Wednesday  suspended by the  National Universities  Commission  have expressed shock, disappointment and  embarrassment   over the NUC announcement.

The institutions said the NUC neither informed them of any form of  wrongdoing, nor sent notice before making its decision public on Wednesday, adding that they learnt of the suspension  for the first time  in the media.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Registrar of Madonna University, Mr. Theophilus Ugwoke, said  the NUC announcement was a big surprise and an embarrassment.

He said, “The point is that it is a big surprise to us.  The university is not being mismanaged by anybody. Our transcripts and certificates are issued promptly. Everybody knows that issuance of transcript is based on request and that is what we have been doing. We also release our results promptly.

“We do not have any unapproved course and all our programmes are duly accredited by the NUC. As at today, all our programmes are approved. We operate from three campuses and all the campuses are conducive for learning, so the whole announcement is a big embarrassment to us.’’

He said the university would find out what it had done wrong from the NUC before taking any decision on the issue. “We want to find out  where we went wrong, until we clear from them, we won’t take any decision,’’ he added.

Though the Achievers University declined giving a position on the issue, claiming that the Governing Council was yet to meet, sources close to the institution said the university was not informed of any form of wrongdoing by the NUC.

The source said the university learnt of the suspension for the first time in the media.

Also, the Director of Communication, Lead City University, Dr. Ayo Owolabi, said the NUC did not inform the institution of any wrongdoing.

He said the action of the regulatory body was also in contempt of the court as an earlier judgment obtained by the institution against the NUC had ordered it not to interrupt the activities of the university.

He  alleged that the action of the NUC was calculated to embarrass the university and “de-market” the institution.  He accused the NUC leadership of bias against the institution.

Noting that the university would make its views known to the public, he said the university had not erred in any way and would continue to carry on with its activities despite the suspension order.

Owolabi however, said the NUC action was capable of discouraging investors in the higher education sector.

He advised that there should be a division between regulatory authorities and accreditation bodies to prevent accreditation exercises from being compromised.

The Registrar, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Mr. Wale Aderibigbe, assured that the suspension order by the NUC would soon be reversed.

In a telephone interview on Thursday, Aderibigbe said, “We are in Abuja already. We are on top of the situation. We hope that by tomorrow, our license shall be restored.”

Asked what could have led to the suspension of license, Aderibigbe hinted that it could be the part-time programmes run by the school.

The management of Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State, said there was no cause for alarm.

The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Chidi-Peters Okorie, told one of our correspondents on Thursday that contrary to the story going the round, the licence of the school was not withdrawn, but suspended.

He said, “It is like the accreditation of courses. From time to time, the NUC comes around to set standards and check if you are meeting the standards.”

Meanwhile, management and staff of Caritas University in Enugu State on Thursday stopped its students from protesting against the suspension of the institution’s licence by the NUC.

A 200 level Computer Engineering students, Friday Igbologe, said, “It’s really quiet here because our students are not really violent. There would have been a protest, but the school management and our lecturers were able to avert it by calming the students; by telling them that the university only needs to fix one or two things and the licence would be restored.”