The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, urged the Federal government on the need to upgrade the facilities of first-generation universities.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Aderemi Oseni, who underscored the need to investigate the quality of projects being implemented by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) across the country.
In his lead debate, Oseni observed that the first generation federal universities in Nigeria in the early sixties exude glory, glamour, quality and class, which they were known for from inception, and they were the pride of the nation in those days.
“The House also notes that the standard and quality of the first generation universities, both in quality of teachers, students and infrastructure, made them attract both foreign students and international recognitions from across the world.
“The House is worried that these first generation universities, namely University of Ibadan (UI), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, amongst others, seem to have lost the glory which they exude in their early years.
“The House is more worried that those universities we used to know and were proud of are now shadows of themselves; the glory has literally departed them due to years of neglect and unintended abandonment of infrastructure and facilities in the universities.
“The House is aware that the result of years of neglect is decay and dilapidated infrastructure in the institutions, both lecture halls, hostels, and auditoriums. The beautiful zoos in the universities that attracted tourists from far and near are now either empty or non-existent.
“The House observed that there is a need for urgent intervention by the federal government to refurbish the first generation universities in Nigeria and return them to the glory that they were known for.
“The House further notes that the Tertiary Education Trust (TETFund) intervention projects, which were initiated to ameliorate the infrastructure gap in the universities, have equally executed a number of projects in selected universities.
“The House is concerned that the quality of works executed by TETFund are very poor that newly completed projects deteriorate faster than existing projects done more than 60 years ago, due to the poor quality of the jobs.
“The House is further concerned that there is a need to investigate the quality of works done by TETFund to ensure that the government is getting value for monies being spent on those projects,” he noted.
To this end, the House urged the Ministry of Education, the National University Commission, TETFund, the Ministry of Finance and Development Partners to work out modalities to refurbish the first generation universities to restore the glory and quality they were known for.
Hence, the House mandated the joint Committees on Universities, Tertiary Education, and TETFund to investigate the standard and quality of completed and ongoing projects executed by TETFund ongoing projects at various tertiary institutions over the years and to ensure that the government is getting value for money expended on those projects.
In the same vein, the House mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance and report back within 6 weeks.