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UB Commemorates African Varsity Day Amidst Lecturers' Strike |
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By Roland Mbonteh
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Monday, 17 November 2008 |
 The University of Buea joined other African universities last Wednesday 12, November to celebrate the 13th edition of the African University Day under the theme “Sustainable in Africa: What is the role of the Higher Education?”.
The event that held at the Amphi Theatre 150 C witnessed an unprecedented low turn out by both the students and the lecturers as well as the university administration.
Infact, the lecturers’ strike action marred the 13th edition of the African University Day, that has in the past years been celebrated with pomp and pageantry at the University of Buea. The Amphi Theatre 150 appeared too big for the timid crowd mostly members of the UB choir and a few students from the Department of Economics and Management who were allegedly deceived by one of their lecturers that he would have his class that afternoon. The lecturer, however pulled a few of his students who came only to realise that it was rather a public lecture he had to deliver on the occasion of the African University Day.
Speaking on behalf of the UB Vice Chancellor, the Deputy VC In Charge of Research, Cooperation and Relation with the Business World, Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh, said Africa suffers from a series of problems such as diseases, conflict, natural disasters, climate change, poverty amongst others. The challenge of the African government, he added, is to come out with strategies that will not only solve these problems but also ensure a sustainable development of the continent. Ngoh posited that the solutions to African problems must be mainstreamed into African Higher Education system.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor however lamented that the poor status accorded to teachers of the Higher education sector.
“They continue to receive meagre salaries compared to those elsewhere with the same qualifications”, Ngoh regretted.
In a public lecture presented by Dr. Godfrey Njimated, titled Sustainable Development in Africa; The University Experience, the economist said education contributes more than 3.5 percent to national development more than the physical capital but investment in Higher Education and its expectation is a paradox.
This, he attributed to the under utilisation of the man power, unemployment, poor salaries leading to brain drain. He also recommended the creation of Universities of technologies to train skills that the general education system cannot so as to make every citizen productive as well as the urgent renovation of the university curriculum to match with the new technologies.
Instituted in 1994 by the then Organisation of African Unity, OAU, today African Union, AU, the African University Day has as objective to sensitise people and decision makers on the role of African universities in the socio-economic development of Africa.
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