The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN) has called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) to include members of professional bodies in its accreditation teams to reduce regulatory interference in university administration.
The committee made the call in its resolutions contained in a communique issued after its 73rd quarterly meeting in Ibadan and signed by its Chairman, Professor Ayodeji Omole.
COPSUN said the NUC, as the regulatory authority for the university system, should be legally strengthened and empowered to exercise overriding authority over university administration nationwide.
It proposed that representatives of relevant professional bodies should participate in accreditation exercises under the leadership of the NUC.
“COPSUN received the reports from our various universities over the growing interference of professional regulatory bodies in university governance,” the communique stated.
The committee said the proposed arrangement would help clarify the respective roles of the NUC and professional regulatory bodies in the administration and accreditation of university programmes.
“These organisations, though legally established and constitutionally empowered, subject universities to multiple overlapping exercises such as resource verification, accreditation, indexing, induction, and licensing.
“These acts put a lot of pressure on the universities, leading to accreditation fatigue in most universities’ systems.”
On the extension of tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Osogbo. COPSUN received a report “that the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure had been extended by two years beyond the statutory five-year term through the Executive pronouncement by the Visitor with proposal to amend the University law to legitimise this illegal extension, which was deemed contrary to the existing legal framework.”
The Pro-Chancellors resolved to formally notify the Visitor (Governor Adeleke) of the University regarding this illegality and the need to adhere strictly to the existing law of the University in line with the University miscellaneous act of 2012 as ammended.
“The Pro Chancellor of the University, who is a member of COPSUN, is also urged to adhere to law and due process to safeguard the governance integrity of the university system.”
