GOVERNOR OKOWA'S "UPGRADE" OF THREE COLLEGES TO UNIVERSITIES, A POLITICAL STUNT OR GENUINE DEVELOPMENT?

"Mr Governor, the right way to go is to increase the carrying capacities of the statelite campuses to allow for admission of more of our youths who are denied admission yearly under a federal government  punitive and discriminatory policy skewed against Deltans".... Yugbovwre. 

The policy decision of Governor Okowa to invest College of Education Agbor,  Anwai satelite campus of Delta State University, and Ozoro Polythecnic  with University status vide the legislative choreography called legislation, enjoys the expected political applause from persons who allow themselves to be fooled from the bully pulpit.

But more rational and informed Deltans see through the shenanigan that that policy is, as can be gleaned from the slew of questions that have been resonating in the public discourse on the subject.

Some of the questions been asked pointedly in reaction to the establishment of the three universities are: has the Delta State University with several satellite campuses attracted the required capital investment from the state government?

Can it be said that the Delta state University has been developed to her optimum status? Is the state resources in a position to fund three addition universities in the near recession we found ourselves? Has the state government funded Primary and Post Primary Schools as the bedrock of education, to the levels desirable? Why shouldn't the pitiable plight of the mass of unemployed graduates roaming the streets of Delta State not be a priority  challenge to the Delta State Government?

Are new Universities what we need, above production outlets to engage our unemployment youths now drifting to 'yahooism 'as a result of frustration?

Not surprisingly, the multitude of discussants who responded to those questions raised in various fora didn't see any kind of justification for the three universities which to them, is all about ritualism and make belief, especially considering the deplorable position of the state even in the funding of primary and post primary education.

For those who allowed themselves to be swayed by political considerations in applauding the gaffe called education upgrade, I invite you to follow us as we lay before the public, the challenges characterising education architecture of Delta State.

The bland argument that proliferation of universities invariably leads to more admission opportunities for our teeming youths in dire need of education, is to say the least, the worst fraud a government can subject his people to.

Even with the three additional universities, admission challenges for our youths will not be ameliorated  

The truth of the matter is that, it is the carrying capacity of the faculties in the university that determine how many students can be admitted per academic session.

And the former is a function of the number of lecturers/professors available to teach in each of the faculties. As at today, the College of Medicine of the Delta State University, Abraka is only permitted to admit 50 students per session.

Whereas, the School of Social Sciences cannot admit more than 100 persons per session as a function of her lecturer capacity.

A good governent that is truly committed to enhancing the admission window in the state for our youths will rather expand the carrying capacities of the faculties in the satelite campuses and Polytechnic by providing funds for the employment of more qualified lecturers as against, engaging in a mere ritual exercise of establishing new universities that does not add value to our educational needs.

It is also worth mentioning that in the real sense, a university is more than the name. A combination of factors all add up to invest the status of a university on a school besides the legislative instrument pronouncing it as a university.

But for the TETFUND sponsored buildings in our state tertiary institutions which, to an extent elevate their architectural image, all that Delta State bequeathed to the state schools only qualified them as post primary institutions.

All a genuinely interested governent needs to do, to provide admission opportunities for our teeming youths jostling for admission under a skewed federal admission which punishes states that are educationally gifted, is to enlarge the admission capacities of the present tertiary institutions in Delta State from their pitiable status to an enviable one. 

University of Ibadan as a single institution can admit ten times more students than all the multiple mushrooms institutions in Delta State can provide.

Mr. Governor, the right way to go is to increase the carrying capacities of the statelite campuses to allow for admission of more of our youths who are denied admission yearly under a federal government  punitive and discriminatory policy skewed against Deltans. 

It is time we stop playing politics with education and future of our children

Kenneth Yugbovwre Mph,

Conflict Resolution,

Trinity College,

Dublin- Ireland