The Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities has urged universities to engage in community services to improve their relationship with host communities.
The Chairman of its Board of Trustees, Prof. J. D. Amin made the call in Maiduguri on Saturday while delivering a public lecture on leadership challenges in Nigerian universities.
The lecture was organized by a committee of friends in honour of the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, UNIMAID, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba.
Amin said community services should be carried out by both staff and students of universities in host communities, “to give them a sense of belonging”.
“The services could be in various forms – community work, classes for students of the community preparing for examinations like JAMB, SSCE or NECO, etc.
“It is better for a lecturer to teach students Mathematics, English or any subject to enable them pass their examinations, instead of writing a paper whose value will take many years to come,” he said.
Borno governor Babagana Zulum, in a remark, stressed the importance of community service and the commitment of his administration to collaborate with the university in that direction.
Zulum, who was a former lecturer in UNIMAID, also advised on collaboration with the university to boost local revenue in the areas of agriculture, particularly livestock, poultry and aquaculture.
In his remarks, the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba, said the advice on community services by Amin and Zulum would be taken seriously by the university.
Shugaba spoke on his five-year tenure challenges, highlighting insurgency, COVID-19 and funding, and concluded that his administration recorded some achievements, in spite of the hurdles.
He lauded the support of staff and students, the Borno Government, some individuals and partners, for the transformation recorded in the university.