By Amaka Abayomi & Dayo Adesulu

Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa is an expert in Pathology and Forensic Medicine. He was first appointed a professor in 2001. He was a two-time Provost of Lagos State University College of Medicine, 2006-2010. In May 2008, he was appointed the First Chief Medical Examiner for Lagos State based on the new Coroner’s Systems Law of 2007.

Upon completion of his undergraduate medical studies from the University of Lagos, Obafunwa obtained his qualifications from National Postgraduate Medical College, Nigeria (1987) and the Forensic Medicine Unit, Department of Pathology, University Medical School, Edinburgh, Scotland (1992). In 2004, he obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Northumbria, United Kingdom.

In this interview, Professor Obafunwa, who was appointed Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), in September 2011, speaks on solutions to the falling standard of education, why LASU didn’t admit students into its satellite campuses, the need for varsities to review the award of honorary degrees and how government can strengthen the varsity system.

Could government officials and some educationists, including VCs, who send their wards abroad for studies be responsible for the neglect of the education sector?

People send their children abroad to study for various reasons. Some do so because they are working abroad and there are some affluent Nigerians who feel the best way to show off is to send their children abroad for studies. I frown at some civil servants and educationists who choose to send their children abroad because they feel there are some inadequacies in Nigeria’s education system because they should be using their positions to improve the standard of education.

The system is overloaded with students who want to be admitted and some have to go abroad because they can afford it. There is no problem if parents can afford to send their children abroad, but it becomes a problem if they are in positions where they are required to provide sound education at home and they fail to do so. They can improve the quality of education by ensuring that government does what it is supposed to do.

As a renowned educationist, what solutions are there to the falling standard of education in Nigeria?
Today’s education standard is different from what I went through. Though there are the aspects of students, parents and teachers, and we know that education starts from the home so parents shouldn’t say that all necessary corrective measures have to be limited to the school.

We all have the ability to guide our children to see that they are studious, do their homework and score good grades. Parents are not expected to interfere with what goes on in schools, and I’m sad when I come across situations where a teacher disciplines a student and the parents react negatively.

Government, on its part, needs to create the needed learning environment and take care of teachers through proper remunerations, but the teachers need to put in their best. We can’t be saying government is not doing what it is supposed to do while the teachers are busy selling handbags and the likes in schools. All hands must be on deck if we are to improve on our education standards.

*Prof. Obafunwa, VC, LASU

It is true that UNESCO recommends that member-states should allocate 26 per cent of their budget to education but we all know that that is not achievable in reality because the problems faced in Nigeria are different from those of other nations. I’m not saying we can’t improve on what we currently expend but I know that the state governors have a lot on their plates.

The Federal Government recently granted licenses to five new private varsities. Is this move necessary considering the number of private varsities existing?

There is no sense in approving licenses for the establishment of more private universities. The question we should ask is even if they have the infrastructure, do they have the personnel to manage these schools? Assuming they have the administrative staff, many of whom would probably be coming into the varsity system for the first time, do they have the teaching staff, else, they will end up with half-baked teachers who lack the prerequisite qualifications.

Rather than setting up more varsities, the solution to the predicament in the education system is for government to implement the FG/ASUU agreement, expand the existing ones by distributing the human resources among them, and get them to strengthen their Departments of Distance Learning so as to enable those who can’t come inside the four walls of varsities to still acquire same knowledge.

If China were to set up varsities based on its population, it would have more than 18,000 varsities, which doesn’t make sense because a solid varsity with good distance learning programmes can cater for between 500,000 to one million students.

Are there plans by your administration to reduce the number of LASU’s satellite campuses as critics say such have done more harm than good to the school’s quality of education?

That is the reason why we didn’t admit students into satellite campuses this year because we have been instructed by the state governor to start winding down. This is a policy I support because apart from government’s directive, it is in line with the expectations of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Besides, we want a situation where we can accurately state the number of students we have and our products so as to be able to give maximum attention to the students. We hope to see those currently in the satellite campuses to graduation before we finally shut them down and focus more on distance learning.

How workable is the recent introduction of free education at all levels for its indigenes by Imo State Government and can such be replicated in other states?

Personally, I don’t believe in freebies because someone will have to pay for them. It is okay if it is a federal policy and government is ready to put all the required resources to make sure it works because this would reduce the amount of money they embezzle.

Prof Obafunwa

Free education for all Imo State indigenes in the state-owned institutions implies that indigenes outside the state would not benefit from it. One question we should ask is: are the state-owned institutions well-funded because there is no point offering free education in these institutions when the staff are disgruntled and students lack the necessary ambience that encourages studying. If the state government can fund such a project, it is all good and well, but I still believe something is wrong with it.

Whether the project can be replicated in other states should be a question of how many states are viable, the population of those viable states and what the governors are spending money on. The realities or specifics for each state may differ and it might be a bit difficult to invest in such a project.

A state like Lagos that expends more on students’ fees would first determine its population; how much comes in by way of federal allocation when compared to states like Bayelsa, Kano or Cross River; how many local government areas are officially in the state, among others. The bottom-line is if any state can afford it, they should go ahead because it means there would be lesser money for them to embezzle.

Are you in agreement with the Minister of Education who stated that award of honorary degrees to individuals have been abused?

That was a very interesting comment which my colleagues and I recently discussed. Without getting into the specifics, my opinion and those of my colleagues is: do we really need to give honorary degree and if we do, how often should it be; has it lost its meaning; and do we have to give it to some money bags? It doesn’t have to be given to one Alhaji or Chief, but academics that have distinguished themselves in certain disciplines and have contributed so much to humanities, sciences or law, can be acknowledged by being given honorary awards.

I’m not drawing conclusions here but it is a fact that some people are doing this for social, political or economic reasons. It was a debate recently and the generality concluded that perhaps we shouldn’t lay too much emphasis on that and I share the Minister’s view.

What led to the upward review of scholarships to students from 4.0 GPA to 4.5 PA?
It goes back to the question of standard because the state government is footing the bills of so many students. I don’t want to comment on the GPAs but we reviewed the scholarship to separate the boys from the men by making it more competitive for students to be more studious. Students who want to benefit from the scholarship would have to put in more efforts to qualify.

In a related development, the Proprietor of Mandate Private Schools, Dr. Sunny Attah supported the position taken by Professor Obafunwa saying that the establishment of new universities by government and licensing of private ones, “is not the solution neither can it serve as a replacement for qualitative education, but rather, equip the existing ones with infrastructure and sound human capital.”

Attah stated that many of our best brains who would have been useful in our universities have relocated abroad where their services are appreciated. According to him, since the NUC came up with a standard that the minimum qualification for university teachers is doctorate degree, he asked, “ how many Ph.D holders do our universities produce yearly?” adding, “Where are they going to get the human resources that will impart knowledge to students?”

Lamenting the scenario, the educationist said, “If I am in the position of decision-making today, I will eradicate mushroom schools. Many school owners established it solely for profit- making and not to set an education standard that will better the sector.”

He urged the FG to set a standard for establishing schools, arguing that there should be a minimum qualification for would-be proprietors of nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and not just for any person. “If you are not learned, you cannot give what you don’t have,” he said.

“No education, no national growth. For us to have economic growth that we will be proud of in this country, government and individuals who have the passion must invest heavily in education. Nigerian leaders are less concerned about tomorrow, stressing that we have good policies but no human capital to implement them.

Speaking at the 2012 Mandate Private Schools’ Inter-house sports competition held at Lagos State University (LASU) sports complex, where various schools in Lagos State participated, Attah suggested that government should make sport a course in our curriculum.