THE Federal Government has frowned at what it described as lopsided recruitment and promotions of staff by the University of Benin, UNIBEN, in favour of the Benin ethnic group, saying that it amounted to a flagrant abuse of the federal character of the institution.
The government said that as an academic community, UNIBEN, should de-emphasise ethnic considerations during recruitment and promotions of staff, advising further that foreigners and people from other ethnic extractions should be recruited and promoted appropriately.
These views were contained in the report of the Visitation Panel on the university which was made available to newsmen in Benin yesterday.
Frowning over what it described as ‘’academic parochialism,’’ the government also noted that the university over spent its budget by N267.712 million between 2004 and 2010 which was the period covered by the Visitation Panel.
The Visitor to the University, “has frowned at academic parochialism “at the University and “therefore directs (the Governing) Council to ensure that management complies with the policy of Federal Character in staff matters,” the report stated.
The Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruquyyatu Ahmed Rufai set up a Visitation Panels into all federal universities in February, 2011.
The Visitation Panel Report which was said to have been presented at a recent Senate meeting of the University by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Osayuki Oshodin indicated that from 2009 to date, the authorities of the university embarked on extensive recruitment and promotions of 257 new staff who were mostly from the Benin ethnic group.
According to the Report, “Additional 518 staff were recruited into the academic, senior non-academic and junior categories on temporary and contract basis” without “adequate budgetary provisions to accommodate the increase in staff,” even as “the recruitment of temporary staff has been abolished in the revised Public Service Rules” and when “almost all the retiring academic staff are offered automatic contract appointments.”
Sources at UNIBEN said that the 518 new workers were not part of another 1000 staff recruited between 2010 and 2011, the period which was not covered the Visitation Panel.
0 comments:
Post a Comment