BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

…Students risk losing another year
THIS is certainly not the best of times for students of the Rivers state University of Science and Technology, RSUST  as lecturers in the school have been on strike for close to one month to force the Visitor of the University and Governor of the State, Chibuike Amaechi to reverse the appointment of Professor Barineme Fakae as Acting Vice Chancellor.

It would be recalled that the school was part of a recent national strike called by the national body of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU that lasted over three months.   If the current crisis in the school is not urgently addressed it would amount to the students suffering disruption in their academic calendar twice within one session.

Meantime, last week Thursday, the national body of ASUU declared a one day national strike in solidarity with its local wing at the Rivers state University of Science and Technology, RSUST. And it was widely observed in several public universities round the country.

Chairman of the RSUST wing of ASUU, Dr Felix Igwe in a telephone chat with Vanguard Features after the one day strike called by its national body said the lecturers would pursue their demand to a logical end.

HOW IT STARTED
Trouble started in the institution when the acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Barineme Fakae ended his first tenure of five years.  He applied for reappointment alongside four contestants for the plum job to a Joint Selection Committee of the University’s Senate and Governing Council.

Contrary to speculations in several quarters that three of those that applied for the job were initially members of the Selection Committee, the University’s  chapter Chairman of ASUU, Dr Igwe said they were rather members of the Senate and the University Governing Council, adding that Prof Fakae is also a member of the two institutions within the school.

The Joint selection committee at the end of its exercise said Professor Fakae came  fifth  and in line with the tradition, according to the ASUU boss, the university was to recommend the first three names to the Visitor of the school and Governor of the State to pick one as Vice Chancellor.

The school’s ASUU Chairman said the Visitor surprisingly dissolved the Governing Council and went ahead to appoint, Prof Fakae who just completed a term of five years as substantive Vice Chancellor, this time,  as Acting VC.

Describing the action of the Visitor and Governor as an aberration, he said in a normal circumstance, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University should have acted until a substantive VC was appointed.

“Prof Fakae was reappointed to succeed himself as acting VC; this is completely a violation of what is in the university law.  If the VC completes his term, the Deputy VC succeeds him in acting capacity until a substantive VC is appointed,” he said.

“Prof Fakae applied for the office of VC; he was fifth among the five that applied for the job. The norm is that the first to third names are forwarded to the Visitor to appoint a VC from.  But the Governor dissolved the Governing Council and reappointed Prof Fakae as acting VC.” he added.

The ASUU boss, Dr Igwe said that the Governing Council was hurriedly dissolved in June when its life time was to have expired in accordance with the law of the university by August 18.

He stated that what the lecturers are demanding is that due process should be followed in appointing a VC for the school.  Dr Igwe also alleged that the Visitor and Governor had in 2008 violated the University law when he first appointed Fakae VC when there was no Governing Council in place. “

The ASUU Chairman, Dr Igwe also said part of their demand this time was that the university law should be modified to be in line with that of other universities in the country where principal officers of universities serve only one tenure.  He said the Visitor and Governor of the State should forward an executive bill to the state House of Assembly on the issue.

Meanwhile, Governor Amaechi has asked ASUU to challenge his action in court if they were unsatisfied. The governor said he acted within the confines of the law establishing the university.

Prof. Fakae, Gov Amaechi and Dr. Igwe

The governor who spoke in far away Berlin Germany, last week, said he would not be pressured by the local wing and national body of ASUU to violate the laws regulating the institution.

Difference between federal law
According to the Governor, by the law establishing the university, the immediate past Vice Chancellor Prof Fakae could still be appointed as VC for another three years after his first term.

His words: “There is a difference between the Federal law which the president had signed which governs Federal universities and the State law.

“They (ASUU) want me to disobey the law that sets up RSUST. I wish them luck but this will not happen within the period that I am Governor of Rivers State.

“There is what is called the rule of law and true federalism; unitary system should not be applied in a state. The law setting up RSUST allows its vice-chancellor to run for three years second term after the expiration of his first term”.

The Governor also described as improper the action of professors in the Governing Council who applied for the job of the Vice Chancellor.  Amaechi said he acted within the law to have appointed Fakae in acting capacity until a substantive VC was appointed.

The governor had before now,  spoken on the issue in Port Harcourt through his Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari. According to him, due process was followed in the appointment of Prof Fakae as Acting VC. He noted that Professor Fakae transformed the school as its VC.

The Commissioner stated that under Prof Fakae,  nearly all the unaccredited courses were approved by the Nigerian Universities Commission, NUC.

The Governor also re-echoed his position on the issue while inaugurating a newly constituted Governing Council in Port Harcourt. The new council has a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Karibi White as Pro Chancellor.

He also said that Prof Fakae as VC effectively tackled the menace of cultism that was a major challenge in the university. Some students of the university who spoke to the Vanguard Features said Prof Fakae made significant impact in the university as Vice Chancellor.

They recalled that before he came on board, students had problems of missing scores, most postgraduate programmes had no terminal date but when he assumed office as VC in his first term, he ensured these problems were addressed.

Standard for scholarship
They said some lecturers were kicking against the appointment because Prof Fakae while as substantive VC made sure it was not business as usual in the school.  They said he insisted on merit as the standard for scholarship in the university.

At press time, nothing serious was going on in the school. Some of the students had moved out of their hostels going on as a drain on their lean purses.

The prayer on the lips of the students is that the imbroglio should be resolved fast so that academic work could resume. They also said their examinations had been slated for the month so they were praying that the differences be resolved quickly so they could complete their programmes.

They said they had already lost semesters to the last ASUU strike so this ugly development should not be allowed to linger for too long in order not to translate into another loss of academic sessions for them.