‘We're Ready for Accreditation’
– Professor Paul Iheanacho Orajaka, Vice-Chancellor, Anambra State University, Uli
By Okechukwu Obenta, Awka
A lot of positive changes have been noticed in your university. What accounts for them?
The only permanent thing in life is change. Everybody wants to change his environment, therefore we are doing our best to make this place better than we found it. With the help of the Anambra State Government and the support of staff coupled with prudent management of resources by management and council, we are able to achieve some measure of success in this place. And we thank God we’re able to do something. We thank the state government, we thank the council, we thank the staff of the university, so we’re there and we hope very soon we will be able to make this university something we’ll all be proud of.
Could you be more specific on the changes and achievements that have taken place?
They are legion. One, when we came here, this place could only pass for a glorified secondary school, but ever since we have done a lot in terms of infrastructure, staff recruitment and development, along with development of our programmes. Let me take them one by one. In terms of academic staff, when I got here, no department had more than three lecturers but now, the minimum number of lecturers per department should be around eight. So we have a lot of staff: young, dynamic lecturers. All of them should have at least, a minimum level of master’s degree. In terms of administrative staff, before now the number was very small, but now we advertised and recruited people into the administrative cadre. We did one thing: we conducted an exam and from that exam selected one person from each local government. So, we have each local government having at least one administrative staff in the university. The same thing with the accounting and executive cadre, but we spread it based on the exam we conducted. The junior staff are mainly from the locality here. That’s normally what it’s supposed to be. Intermediate staff are from all parts of Anambra State .
In terms of programmes, when we came in, there were not many programmes that were operational. It was then University of Science and Technology, but there was no physics, no mathematics, no biology, and no chemistry courses. So we said, how can you run a University of Technology without all these big sciences? So, in addition to the programmes already existing, we introduced new programmes and the students are now in their third year. Then we looked around again and identified Igbo Language. You cannot run a university in Igboland without an Igbo Language programme, so we also introduced Igbo Language, alongside two programmes in Agriculture: Agric Extension and Agric Economics programmes and then Crop Science and Horticulture. So we introduced four programmes in Sciences, two in Agriculture, plus Igbo Language.
In infrastructural development, I think a lot has been done; we put up a two-storey office block for our Engineering Faculty. We put up the Engineering Mechanical Workshop; we put up again another large classroom block for Engineering; another building for Environmental Sciences. Then recently, we put up a building for Architecture; all of these are in Uli. Then our programme is expanding and we’re at the verge of starting a programme in Medicine. So we started by introducing three programmes: Bio-chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology and three buildings to house the three programmes were just completed about three weeks ago. The only thing left now is to put the furniture and then the equipment. So our dream for a medical school is alive and when we complete this we may be discussing with the state government which is desirous to have a medical school and our initial plan was to use Onitsha General Hospital which you all know has been accredited now. So we will do the pre-clinical here then they go to Onitsha and do the clinical aspect of medicine. Then at Igbariam (campus), the visitation panel mandated that three programmes will be at Igbariam. They are the faculty of Agriculture, Arts and Social Sciences. Arts and Social Sciences are made up of English Language, Igbo, Political Science, Economics, Mass Communication and Public Administration. They are all relocated to Igbariam and the infrastructural development at Igbariam is also impressive. Firstly, ETF helped us to put a two-storey building that contains 36-room offices for staff. Then, our first programme that we funded from our IGR (Internally Generated Revenue) in Igbariam was a hostel block that contains 26 rooms. Right now, eight programmes are simultaneously going on at Igbariam. The Law Faculty Fund was provided by the state government. Our Law faculty building is going to be the best infrastructure. It’s a massive building that will contain everything the Law faculty needs: offices, classes, law library, everything. That building is at the roofing level. In the next one and half months, it will be ready. Then we’ve completed (two months ago), a classroom complex containing five large lecture halls, each of which should contain about 150 students. Again, we’re putting up another classroom complex that contains four large halls and 10 academic staff offices. The Mass Communication Department has moved down to Igbariam. We’re now putting up a building for Mass Communication at Igbariam; it’s going to be a storey building. We designed it to meet the requirements of Mass Communication and we’re now putting up as well, three hostels. One is being funded by ETF, one is funded from IGR and the other is funded by the state government.
So in terms of infrastructure, when these buildings are completed, the university’s problem with accommodation will be very much minimised.
In terms of staff development, we have serious plans. We have made it a rule that any staff undertaking any programme that will lead to Ph.D, we’ll partly sponsor by providing N50,000 a year and also during my last trip to the United States, I made contact with my alma mater and we have a firm agreement that they will be able to accept any student we recommend for graduate work in the university. Similarly, during my overseas trip I met a lot of people from Anambra State, in Atlanta they donated books which will arrive in the next two weeks. And also, in my alma mater I made contact with members and they donated about 18 cartons of books. In Houston , I met some of my students and (some) Anambrarians also made some donations of books and three computers. All these efforts are geared towards our accreditation that will come in November.
In 2005, we presented 19 programmes; that was our first outing. It wasn’t bad, all the programmes scaled through but the only thing is that many of them had interim accreditation. It was only four that had full accreditation. That means 15 of the programmes will go for a re-match this November and I hope and believe we’re better prepared and equipped to face the accreditation now. In the case of the Law Faculty, it has interim accreditation. We invited the Council on Legal Education; they came and looked at our programmes and encouraged us to continue but said we needed to expand our facilities. That informed the decision of the Anambra State Government to build an imposing Faculty of Law at Igbariam. When that building is completed, I don’t see any reason why we should not have full accreditation in both the NUC and Council on Legal Education. So putting all together, we are moving forward. In terms of staff co-operation, I think we’re enjoying reasonable support from them. But you know, wherever  there are 12,  you must have a Judas. But the issue is that once you have a good majority, you continue to move. I don’t think we have any problem with the staff. We agree, we work together and they’re happy because of the welfare and open door policy of this administration.
What is the state of affairs concerning the relocation of your university’s headquarters to Alor?
You want to drag me into politics; I say no. Wherever the government decides, we’ll do it, and I’m an obedient servant. I am what you may call AGIP (Any Government in Power). Any policy they make, I will follow.
How are you coping with the post-JAMB screening which has been dogged by controversy in many schools?
There’s no controversy. It is one of the best things that have happened to the university system. We’re going to do it. We’re preparing for it; we’re ready for it and we’re prepared to do it this August.
What’s your student population?
Our student population is 7, 500.
Cultism seems to be posing no threat to your school, what is the magic?
I won’t say it is 100 per cent non-existent, but, we do our best through enlightenment.