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By Henry Oladele
A university lecturer, Prof. Rafiu Okuneye, says adequate teaching facilities and equipment are key to effective teaching and quality research in universities.
Okuneye ,a professor of Physiology Education,said this during the maiden lecture of the Faculty of Education, Lagos State University (LASU),Ojo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the lecture is “Fostering Academic Culture Towards University Greatness”.
Okuneye ,delivering the lecture, also urged universities to promote research and scholarly activities to foster and sustain a robust academic culture.
According to him, a robust academic culture is indispensable to a university’s sustained excellence.
“Insufficient facilities and equipment further hinder effective teaching and research, despite regulatory measures, like carrying capacity limits, which are often circumvented.
“Governance challenges arise when university leadership manipulates regulations or suppresses institutional committees, leading to instability and a breakdown in academic discipline.
“Amidst these challenges, the commitment of academic staff, those who are disciplined, knowledgeable, and dedicated-is pivotal in nurturing and upholding the academic culture that propels a university toward greatness,”he said.
The professor, while speaking on the theme, said that the society look up to the universities for solutions to its problems and advancements.
“In the words of Benno 2017, the predominant view is that universities must demonstrate their relevance to the real world.
“This is by ensuring a close link between the knowledge and skills they produce and the needs of the local and global communities in which they are embedded,”he said.
According to him ,the primary function of any university is serving as an instrument for the well-being agenda that can help reduce poverty and disease, as well as improve agricultural produce and industrialisation,”he said.
He also said a university’s culture is characterised by shared values, strong traditions, acceptable behaviours, and not democracy or politics.
“These are the things we are trying to explore which includes academic pursuits, social interaction, extracurricular activities, and a parallel atmosphere that characterises life on campus.
“University is what we mean when we say campus life, life on campus. This is a norm in this whole university.
“University is a society that is characterised by attitudes and behaviours that are of high quality. Therefore, this culture remains its own.
“As university education seeks to impact the minds of people, it solves vital problems and shapes the world for a better place to start,”he said.
He said other features that characterise an academic culture are qualifications, rules of operations, recognition of standards and discipline.
“Others are academic freedom, dignity, seniority, and scholarship,”he said.
While speaking on political culture , Okuneye said that it is a critical aspect of university culture as It caters for the leaderships of various segments of the university,
“This starts with university management, faculty, school, department, services, directorate, staff and Students’ Union Associations and societies within the university,”he said.
The Dean, Faculty of Education, Prof. Olugbenga Akindoju, in his welcome address, said the lecture marked the beginning of a new tradition in the faculty platform for intellectual and academic inspiration and scholarly excellence.
“The theme is both timely and strategic, and a faculty that plays a vital role in shaping future teachers and educational leaders, we recognise that teacher education is central to national development.
“No nation can rise above the quality of its teachers, and by investing in teacher preparation, we are directly investing in the future of our country.
“However, the journey towards excellence is not without challenges. The faculty continues to grapple with inadequate facilities for lectures, offices and laboratories that should support innovative teaching and research,”he said.
The professor ,who acknowledged that the university could not achieve greatness alone, urged stakeholders, alumni and friends of the faculty to rise and act as partners in progress.
“Your spirited support, whether in resources, infrastructure or collaboration, that will help us provide the enabling environment our staff and students deserve, is requested,”he said.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of LASU, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatuji-Bello, said that the initiative signalled a new tradition of intellectual engagement, knowledge sharing and scholarly excellence.
Olatunji-Bello was represented by the Deputy VC, Academics, Prof. Taiwo Afisi.
“This will significantly enrich the academic culture of a world-class university such as ours.
“As a university community, we must constantly remind ourselves that the true measure of greatness is not in infrastructure alone, but in the strength of our academic culture, and values of rigorous scholarship with mentorship.
“This lecture series by the Faculty of Education is therefore commendable.
“It keeps us focused on our collective mission to make LASU the best university in West Africa with the highest and finest level of academic and research standards,” she said.
Vice-Chancellor , Lagos State University of Education, Prof.Bilkis Lafiaji-Okuneye, Dr Oluwasegun Musa, a traditional ruler, Oba Nojeemdeen Oduala I of Akesan kingdom, were also anong those present at the programme. (NAN)
Edited by Buhari Bolaji
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