*Oborevwori Tasks Varsities On Financial Autonomy, Private Sector Investments
DELTA State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has approved a new salary structure for academic staff of the four state-owned universities with effect from August this year, while that of non-academic staff and other tertiary institutions would take effect from September this year.
Oborevwori, who disclosed this in Asaba during the swearing in of the newly appointed Auditor General of the state, Emasogbe Matthew Oghene, and inauguration of the Governing Councils of the University of Delta (UNIDEL), Agbor; Dennis Osadebay University (DOU), Asaba; and Southern Delta University (SDU), Ozoro, said the four state-owned universities, including the Delta State University, Abraka, now offer professional courses, including medicine, law, nursing and accounting.
The governor said student enrolment into the institutions rose from about 50,000 in 2023 to over 100,000 this year, while the enrolment figures have also been reported in recent government’s education sector briefings.
Oborevwori enthused that the academic calendar of the universities had not been disrupted by staff strikes or student unrest in 17 years, a development he said was evidence of the state government’s commitment to stable academic activities.
He described Delta State as an emerging education hub in Nigeria, expressing his administration’s commitment to repositioning the state-owned universities as centres of excellence.
The governor charged the newly inaugurated councils to pursue policies that would strengthen corporate governance, improve institutional efficiency and position the universities for sustainable growth.
He urged the councils, as the highest policy-making bodies of the institutions, to ensure regular meetings, collective responsibility, transparency and accountability, while ensuring that the universities operated strictly in accordance with their enabling laws.
Oborevwori also tasked the councils to maintain zero tolerance for sexual harassment, examination malpractice, cultism, favouritism and corruption, urging them to apply disciplinary measures whenever rules were breached.
Noting that the state government would continue to support tertiary education within the limits of available resources, he, however, stated that it is unrealistic and unsustainable for a university to rely solely on government funding; hence he urged them to devote substantial time and resources to marketing their institutions and attracting private-sector investments.
He assured his administration continued investment in infrastructure and staff welfare, pointing to his recent approved for the construction of two hostels for each of the nine state-owned tertiary institutions, each designed to accommodate 480 students.
The governor urged the councils to build on the progress recorded and make the institutions more competitive nationally and internationally.
Oborevwori also charged Oghene to discharge his duties with transparency, courage, professionalism and fairness, warning against political witch-hunting and deliberate cover-up.
Responding on behalf of the appointees, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of DOU, Patrick Muoboghare, thanked Oborevwori for appointing him and other members of the councils.
Muoboghare, a former commissioner for Higher Education, called for the establishment of a Higher Education Endowment Fund to provide sustainable funding for tertiary institutions to enable them to compete favourably with their counterparts globally.
He challenged eminent Deltans and Nigerians to partner with government by investing in student hostels, staff accommodation, lecture halls and faculty buildings, saying government alone cannot not provide all the infrastructure required to develop the universities.
The UNIDEL Governing Council has Victor Peretomode as Chairman; while Godson Echegile chairs the SDU council.
