Uduaghan deplores agitations by host communities to produce heads of academic institutions

The Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, at weekend decried what he described as an “ugly trend” where host communities of academic institutions insist that they produce key management personnel, including the headship, of such Institutions.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the College of Education, Agbor, Uduaghan said that it was a worrying development, which can only breed incompetence, clannish segregation, crisis and be counter-productive to the pursuit of academic excellence in the Institutions.
He said: “It is a very dangerous trend for a host community to insist that the head of the institution must come from the institution and this must be discouraged.
“Competence, rather than place of origin, should remain the determining factor in the appointment of heads of academic institutions in the country, so as not to destroy the ethos of the academic community.
Besides, Dr. Uduaghan condemned the attitude of some teachers who stay away from their classrooms, noting that while government was tackling the problem of out-of-school syndrome with ‘Edumarshals’, the teachers were compounding the issue.
He warned that henceforth, teachers found wanting would be sanctioned as the government will not tolerate a situation where its efforts to enhance the standard of education in the state were being frustrated by a group of persons.
The governor, who is the visitor to the College, charged Nigerians to help stamp out cultism in the nation’s academic institutions.
According to him, cultism was the root of most social vices plaguing the country and needed to be stamped out in the academic institutions, so as to improve on societal life.
In particular, he charged the management of the College of Education and other higher institutions in the state not to award certificates to any confirmed cultist in the institution.
His words: “If you are an identified secret cult member, I insist that you do not get a certificate because a student must be found worthy in learning and character for him or her to receive a certificate as a graduate.”
While congratulating the graduands, Dr. Uduaghan urged them to be committed teachers and contribute their quota to the development of the school system as the primary school where they would be utilised was the foundation of the all-round development of the child.
The governor commended the efficiency of the staff of the College and called for convocation to be held yearly for it to be meaningfully.
Dr. Hope Eghagha, the Commissioner for Higher Education, charged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the College.
Earlier, the Acting Provost of the College, Dr. J. E. Konyeme, commended Uduaghan for the infrastructural and academic progress made in the College.
Konyeme said that over 7,000 students who graduated between 2005 and 2012 were being awarded the National Certificate in Education at the convocation ceremony.
The best graduating student for the 2011/2012 session, Stanley Ebinum, hailed the commitment of the state government to educational development and appealed for jobs for the graduands.