The Rivers State House of Assembly, RVHA, Committee on Educatoon has recommended a change of name for the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST).
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Doctor Farah Dagogo explained that the recommendation for the change in nomenclature is reliant on the observations from the Public Hearing as well as the National Universities Commission, NUC, directive that Universities should adhere to their core areas of mandate or risk the affected courses being discredited.
“The Committee recommends that the name of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology be changed to the RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY in order to avoid the NUC’s policy from adversely affecting non-science and technology-based courses being run by the university,” a part of the recommendations reads.
Furthermore, the Committee urged the House to recommended that ‘Section 2(a) should be re-couched to read thus: … to produce manpower of various levels in any field of human endeavour essential for development. “and post-graduates” should be added in Section 3(l) to cover the entire spectrum of the student population in the University;’ ” Since there is no Section 4(1a), the Bill should be re-numbered accordingly; ” ‘Part-time programmes’ should be included among the programmes the University could exercise its powers to bring to fruition, hence Section 4(1b) should now read: To establish such campuses, colleges, facilities, institutes, centres, schools, extra-mural departments, part-time programmes… “ ‘Guest houses and staff residential quarters’ should be added as some of the structures for which the University has power to erect under Section 4(1a); The Committee also pointed out that in ‘order to forestall a stalemate in the absence of the Pro-Chancellor at meetings, Section 6(2) should therefore read: The Pro-Chancellor shall, when he is present, be the Chairman at all meetings of the Council and shall, in his absence, appoint any of the external members of Council to act in his stead ‘ ” The word ‘Counsel’ should be substituted with the word “Council” in Section 7;Section 9(3) should be further divided into another subsection to read thus: (3) The Provost/Dean of a College/School/Faculty shall exercise general superintendence over the academic and administrative affairs of the College/School/Faculty (4)It shall be the function of the Provost/Dean to present to Congregation or Convocation for the conferment of degrees persons who have qualified for the degrees of the University at examinations held in the branches of learning for which responsibility is allocated to that College/School/Faculty.
“Since Sections 12(2) and 13(5) of the Bill, respectively, made reference to Sections 27(1) and 6(1) of the Interpretation Law despite the fact that such Sections do not exist in the Interpretation Law, such references should be discountenanced; the ouster clause in Section 15(2) should be removed and the Section re-couched to read thus: The decision of the Chancellor or the Visitor on any matter referred to him under this Section shall be binding upon the authorities, staff and students of the University. “In order to prevent arbitrary exercise of power to suspend a member of staff accused of misconduct by the Vice-Chancellor, Section 18(2) should, therefore, read thus: The Vice Chancellor may, in a case of misconduct by a member of staff, which, in this opinion, is prejudicial to the interest of the University, cause a disciplinary committee to investigate the issues pertaining to the misconduct.
If the committee establishes a preliminary case of misconduct, the Vice Chancellor, acting on behalf of the Council, may suspend such a staff and any such suspension, shall, forthwith, be reported to the Council.
“The composition of the Council under Section 1 in the Second Schedules is unwieldy and should be tinkered with thus: Delete representatives of both Ministries of Commerce and Industry as well as Justice; ” Special consideration should be made relating to pension of Directors and other members of staff in the same manner it was made for professors, hence a sub-paragraph 2 should be added to read thus: Any other member of staff (whether academic or non-academic who retires will be dealt with in accordance with the Rivers State Contributory Pension Scheme for Employees in the Public Service Law, No. 7 of 2009, “the recommendations further reads.
