IT is distressing that some university teachers
in Nigeria have sunk into the shameful abyss
of moral decadence, becoming sex bullies as a
result of their unbridled lust for the female
undergraduates they are paid to teach. This is
part of the disgusting outcome of a pilot study
into the problems of tertiary institutions in
Nigeria, which is a collaboration between the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission and the
National Universities Commission. The report
has to be acted upon speedily by the concerned
authorities in order to arrest the grave
situation in the university system.
In addition to 49 other routine infractions
unearthed in the pilot study, it is shocking to
hear the ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, saying,
"We have uncovered many corrupt practices
in our universities. Sexual harassment seems
to rank extremely very high among corrupt
practices uncovered in our universities. Our
report is based on the quantum of petitions we
have received on this corrupt practice. We're
emphasising this because sexual harassment
has to do with the immediate challenge we
need to address." The sale of examination
questions; inducement to manipulate awards
of degrees; direct cheating during
examinations; deliberate delays in the release
of results; victimisation of students by
officials and lack of commitment to work by
the lecturers are also high on the list of
horrible misconduct on campuses. How sad
that the citadels of learning have become
havens for sex perverts.
Education is directly responsible for
developing strong character. It is argued that
universities are set up to push forward the
frontiers of knowledge, transform people's
lives and contribute to the health and wealth
of our nation through their deep involvement
in wider society and the economy. Where are
Nigerian universities in all of these sterling
values? Little wonder that organisations such
as the World Bank have argued that
"universities in Africa in particular were
adding too little to economic prosperity and
producing too many unemployable graduates
with academic skills for which there was little
demand." It also explains why our tertiary
institutions are lagging behind in the global
rankings of universities. The disastrous
consequences of the rot are very clear.
These corrupt practices have to be handled
with all seriousness by relevant government
agencies, especially the NUC. The role of
education and human capital in driving
economic and social development must be
acknowledged. The expansion of education
has contributed to a fundamental
transformation of many societies, such as
China, India, Brazil, among others, in the last
two decades. A university signifies a centre of
the highest academic endeavour, but in
Nigeria, the activities of randy lecturers
demanding sex for marks are eroding the
quality of scholarship and perverting
standards of moral values.
University education standards will not
improve without tighter regulation and
stricter enforcement of rules. The Federal
Government must constitute governing
councils for universities that currently don't
have them. While seasoned administrators
should be preferred as vice-chancellors, lax
ones should be held responsible for serious
violation of cherished values on their
campuses. Student unions in the schools must
be properly re-constituted. The unions and
university authorities must work in concert
to identify victims of sexual harassment and
encourage them to speak out so that the
raunchy lecturers would be named, shamed
and disciplined.
The vice-chancellors must do more to end this
morally reprehensible behaviour in our Ivory
Towers. If the VCs are not to be blamed, why is
it that disciplinary action is seldom taken
against the lecherous lecturers going about
campuses demanding sex before awarding
grades to students? At least, some of the
petitions the ICPC worked on to produce the
report must have been sent to the VCs, who
apparently are shielding the culprits from
punishment.
Parents have a crucial role to play in ending
these corrupt practices. Apart from
monitoring their children and wards, they
must follow up every reported act of sexual
harassment by lecturers on their children
with the authorities of the concerned schools.
The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian
Universities should not be seen as fighting
only for the financial benefits of its members,
it should also be instrumental in identifying
the debauchery in their midst.
This recklessness - a position corroborated by
the ASUU president, Nasir Isa, before
newsmen in Kano on March 4, 2013 - on our
campuses must stop. Universities stand for
good values, a place where the innate abilities
of students are to be developed, but how can
our youths attain academic excellence when
their lecturers are more concerned about
defiling and fleecing them? This is a ripe
moment to send a message to the errant
teachers that their time in immorality is up.
This is also the time to re-examine the system
of admission to Nigerian universities. A
system that encourages admission
racketeering produces dull students who are
willing to cut corners - like bribing lecturers
with money or sex and engaging in cult
activities - to obtain degrees. Governments
and the education authorities have to
empower governing councils and senates of
universities to act on the ICPC report within a
specific time frame.
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