The Founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi yesterday faulted the decision of the federal government to shut schools in the country.

They both spoke at the inauguration of the institution’s 16 newly installed dialysis machines in the multi-system teaching hospital, a state-of-the art blood bank and transfusion services yesterday.

They both described the decision as illegal.

Babalola, former Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Lagos, lamented that the decision to shut schools including private tertiary institutions for one month would have adverse effect on the predictable academic calendar of private universities.

Consistent with his plan to provide world-class health care, Babalola also inaugurated ultra-modern helipad, certified by the Ministry of Aviation, to ease transportation of patients and clients to the multi-system hospital and the university alongside a new building for the military to ensure security.

At the inauguration of the health facilities were the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and the acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, among others.

Speaking at the inauguration, the founder lamented that the decision of the federal government to close schools would reduce private universities to the level of public universities where four-year programmes would not be completed in eight years.
Babalola said the letter from Minister of Education directed NUC “to close down all universities and schools for one month with effect from Monday, March 23.

“The Vice Chancellor immediately called an emergency state senate meeting and also that of the Student Representative Council (SRC). As a law abiding institution, it was decided that the university should close down as directed.”
He expressed the SRC sadness about the decision, noting that more than 50 per cent of the students believed that such move was counter-productive.

He said: “Some of them including some medical students who are in the midst of examination which will run for about a week. Some others are on postings. The institution’s residential campus is safer and healthier than any residential house in any part of the country.

“The Senate is of the view that education is a delicate issue. Universities are not parastatals of the federal government like railway or Bank of Industry (BOI). Even the visitor to public universities have no right to dissolve council, remove registrar or dabble into academic work in the university.

“The Federal Ministry of Education, indeed the federal government, knows that it has no right to close university. That was why it wrote to the National Universities Commission (NUC) to close down universities.

“The NUC too knows that the power to close down universities under section 22 of Education (National Minimum Standard Act) provides that it must afford the proprietor of the institution to make representation for consideration within 60 days before it can close down a university.”

Babalola explained that it would afford the individuals to offer suggestions on the delicate issue, saying the federal government ought to have invited proprietors of private universities to an emergency meeting to discuss the letter from the ministry of education before the closure.

Also at the inauguration, Oba Adeyemi said the recent announcement by the federal government “to close down all schools and universities in the country is absolutely unnecessary.”

He said the closure of any university “is the responsibility of the senate. Since university laws state expressly the duties and functions of the visitor, council and senate, none of the three bodies has the right or powers to assume the functions and duties of any of the other two.”

After the inauguration yesterday, the institution presented two books titled: “The Elusive Search for Nation Nigeria” and “ABUAD: The Pioneering Educational Renaissance” as part of the founder’s continuous contribution to knowledge and providing valuable reading materials for the public.

Speaking at the programme, Olarinde described the inauguration of the projects as fascinating, saying that the institution’s aspiration is to become one of the first 100 best universities in the world.