By Amaka Abayomi & Ikenna Asomba

The immediate past president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU and Acting Vice Chancellor, Imo State University (IMSU),Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, has called on tertiary institutions such as  Universities of Technology  and Agriculture to focus on their field of expertise. Awuzie said that this would help solve the  challenges being faced in the Nigerian higher education sector.

Speaking with Vanguard Learning in light of the on-going ASUU strike, Awuzie said administrators in the Nigerian education sector must have a mission, a direction of where they are going and how to get there; the problems in the sector would persist.

According to Awuzie, “In the early 80’s, specialized universities – Universities of Technologies and Universities of Agriculture were created to boost our technological and agricultural productivity. But it is unfortunate that these specialized varsities that aresupposed to pioneer technological and agricultural advancement are now awarding degrees in social sciences, arts, business, like the conventional varsities, and this is wrong.

“Even today, someconventional varsities with Faculties of Engineering have better and more sophisticated equipments than our Universities of Technology that are supposed to be technological-oriented.”