FUNAAB VC urges better funding for varsities

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, has decried the level of funding of African universities.

The dearth of funds, Oyewole said, had affected the universities negatively.

According to him, the problem has resulted in student and worker unrests, poor infrastructure and migration of academics to developed countries.

Oyewole, the President, Association of African Universities, stated this at the maiden Soils of Forest Islands in Africa workshop on “Scientific Methods and Communication, Scientific Proposals and Ecosystems of Africa” held in the university.

He regretted that despite the African Union’s commitment to the allocation of, at least, one per cent of its member countries’ Gross Domestic Product to research and development, only a few countries had complied, resulting in low research publications.

The VC represented by the immediate past Dean, College of Plant Science and Crop Production, Prof. Goke Bodunde, also commended the Royal Society for supporting capacity building initiatives and ensuring that students benefited from them.

He noted particularly that research activities in the university, which is one of the hosts of the SOFIIA project, focused on agriculture, soil, and the environment, among others.

Hailing the quality of research and grants management ability in the university, Oyewole assured of effective implementation of the SOFIIA project in the school.

The Project Manager of SOFIIA, Prof. Jon Lyloyd, of the Imperial College, United Kingdom, said the Royal Society, through the United Kingdom Department for International Development, and the African Capacity Building Initiative, sponsored the SOFIIA projects in universities in Africa.

The Principal Investigator, Nigeria, Dr. Jamiu Azeez, stated that the DfID African Capacity Building Initiative was to strengthen the research capacity of universities and research institutions.

Noting that a consortium of scientists from London, Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso handled the project, he added that the initiative was capable of facilitating sustainable multi-disciplinary partnership between research groups in sub-Sahara Africa and the UK.

Azeez added that the initiative would strengthen capacity in schools in sub-Sahara Africa; produce good researchers, just as it would help universities on the continent in developing sustainable research and training capacity.

Meanwhile, the university has fixed August 17 and 18, 2015 for screening of candidates seeking admission to the school for the 2015/2016 academic session.

It made this known in a statement signed by its Registrar, Mr. Mathew Ayoola.

The application, which opened on Monday, August 3, Ayoola said, would close on August 14.