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THISDAY • WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2015
EDUCATION
‘Edwin Clark Varsity will Impact Community,
Produce Well Equipped Youths’
Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Delta State, the 60th private university in Nigeria,
which was recently issued an operating licence by the National Universities Commission
(NUC), will soon open its doors to students. Some of its top management staff, including
the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Timothy Olagbemiro, told Funmi Ogundare that the
institution is poised to add value to its community and make the youths better equipped
for global challenges
The Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo,
Delta State was founded by one of
Nigeria’s elder statesman and politician,
Chief Edwin Clark, who served
as Commissioner for Education under
the Brig. Samuel Ogbemudia administration in
the old Bendel State. He was also one of the
first architect of the University of Benin, when
it began as Mid West Institute of Technology
(MIT) then.
At the initial stage of the formation of the
MIT and its conversion to University of Benin,
Clark combined his duties as commissioner
for education and pro-chancellor of the newly
created university. Years later, he served as
pro-chancellor of the Federal University of
Technology, Minna. His interest in university
education is not therefore new. This no doubt
motivated him to set up the institution as a
legacy to humanity.
The institution, located in his hometown,
Kiagbodo, along with Hezekiah University,
Abia State, were issued operation licenses by
the NUC on May 7, 2015. Plans are underway
for it to commence academic programmes in
two faculties, containing 10 departments and
15 undergraduate programmes in the first year.
The faculties approved for Edwin Clark
University are; Faculty of Science, Humanities,
Social and Management Sciences, Faculty of Law,
Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine, Environmental
Sciences, Arts as well a Postgraduate School.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Timothy
Olagbemiro,“the NUC team had visited here
twice; they came in December 2013 for the
first time and in February, 2014, they came
here for the final visit to see our facilities. They
had some checklist to ensure our compliance
with the NUC set standard.
“I got involved as vice-chancellor designate
in the entire process as a member of the Project
Implementation Committee (PIC) headed by
Professor Sam Igun, a former Vice-Chancellor of
Delta State Univerity; Ambassador Clark, retired;
two eminent professors from the University
of Benin, and other distinguished academics
from Ekpoma, Otueke, a retired professor
and librarian, registrar and deputy registrar
designate. Chief Clark himself served in the
PIC as Founder. We got our structures, facilities
as well as our academic brief along with our
master plan ready way before their final visit,
just before the election.
“We worked assiduously along with the
founder’s son, Chief Ebikeme Clark, the Foundation
Secretary, Miss Dorothy Charles-Koko both
of who were instrumental to ensuring that the
structures were in place and well funded. We
had several sleepless nights, just to ensure we
met a targeted date.
Olagbemiro described Clark as a hard working
man, who never gives up. “He wants results,
and will put all in him to getting it. He was
constantly in communication with us in the
field, and occasionally joined us in Kiagbodo. He
led the PIC extremely well, and this accounted
for its success.”
On the institution’s set objectives, Olagbemiro
who served successfully for 10 years as Vice-
Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun
State, said although Edwin Clark University is
not located in a cosmopolitan city, Kiagbodo is
ideal for true learning and for the development
of young minds who would make the state
and country proud. He expressed hope that
students yearning for quality education would
appreciate the thoughts of the founder, as well
A section of Edwin Clark University Science laboratory
as the foundation in locating the institution in
Kiagbodo.
“We note here the impact of pollution, land
degradation, ecological disruption common to
this zone, it is planned that Edwin Clark will
mount vital courses in environmental studies,
oil and gas, as well as on land reclamation. Such
courses will be run with our link institution,
Coventry University, UK.
We believe these will be useful to this community,
the quality of life of the community, as
well as value added to nation building. Generally,
the university is set to explore the minds of
the youths and add value to the community
that had been for long neglected.”
Asked if the institution has put in place the
required human capital to run effectively, he said,
“university business is capital intensive, you
must have people who are credible and know
what they are doing, as well as people who are
forthright and honest in what they are doing.
We were able to locate some professors that
will serve as deans, and heads of departments,
from several institutions. These would assist
in our initial take-off at this stage. Indeed, we
have been working with these people in the
last one year. We have already advertised to
source for staff where we don’t have enough.”
The vice-chancellor reiterated that the goal
of any institution is to be best in all areas
of endeavors such as teaching, research or
community service, adding, “Rome was not
built in a day. Slow and steady wins the race;
I experienced it work. I had this experience at
Bowen before; we have got to build up our
capacity and manpower to ensure that it works
here too.”
On his view about the quality of graduates in
some Nigerian institutions who many employers
have said to be unable to defend their certificates,
and what could be responsible for the academic
laxity in Nigerian universities, Olagbemiro said,
“If you bring students in and give them poor
curricular, by the time they graduate they bring
about poor output.
“It’s like in-flow, it must be good enough so
that your outflow can be good. That is the key
which our institutions must imbibe and enforce.
We want to ensure that staff members that are
employed into the system are brilliant, smart,
innovative, good mentors, good researchers and
good teachers. They must be people who take
interest in their students and make impact in
the lives of students academically, socially and
spiritually. He stressed that “if you bring in
garbage as teachers, you will surely produce
garbage graduates who are poor in every aspects
of their vocation. They will not be able to read
or write. The kind of staff you bring in and the
curricular you have are very essential.
“The NUC operates a Benchmark Minimum
Academic Standard (BMAS) system to perform
very well and steady above the minimal
standard, we have to get staff who are good
in their approach on how to teach and what
to teach. We want to ensure that we have a
good curricular and stalk quality way above
the BMAS of NUC. At Edwin Clark, we will
look for good staff and pay them well so that
they can compete favorably. If you pay them
poor salary, they will give you poor standard.
It’s garbage-in, garbage-out.”
Olagbemiro’s reaction to the proliferation of
universities and its attendant problems was:
“The number of available spaces for the teeming
populace seeking admission into Nigerian
universities is far too small compared to those
seeking admission.”
While appealing to the NUC to enable the
university commence its Law Faculty, as it has
all facilities in place such as three lecture rooms
with capacity for 80 students each; Law Faculty
Library; Law Faculty e-Library; Moot Court;
Law Auditorium to sit 250 students; deans and
lecturers’ offices adequate in number; extensive
law books with various online references and
indexing, he expressed hope that the institution
would get students that are capable of making
it proud within and outside the country in the
next 10 years.
The Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Social and
Management Sciences, Prof. Patrick Osiegbu,
said most of the facilities for take-off are ready,
adding that the institution has developed
academic programme showing the course
structure, description and requirement from
NUC and other professional associations. He
expressed hope that the university would boost
intellectual population from other states.
“We have plans to run pre-degree programmes
to encourage those who are not able to get
the number of required credits to be admitted
into year one.”
The don stressed the need for parents and other
stakeholders to be committed to the development
of education, adding that the private sector
could participate by giving grants to universities
and sponsoring professorial chairs to improve
academic standards.
“The private sector should not seclude itself
from intellectual development, it is not the best
for the nation.”
The institution’s Librarian, Dr. Stephen Osiobe,
who has practised for over 30 years, expressed
concern that “the reason we are not producing
good graduates is because the foundation from
the primary school is weak. The reading culture
is something one must grow up with so that
he/she can have value for the printed word.
We are living in a society where visuals have
become dominant. The multi-media dominance
in modern society has made youths not to spend
much time to read.”
He said the institution has a digital library
to enable staff and students access reading
materials, books and journals of publishers
and other academic proprietary bodies that
have database.”
Explaining the process that led to the issuance
of the license, the Registrar, Chief Rosalyn
Egborge said, “I was at JAMB office in Abuja
to register the new university to request the
board to place application for the selection of
candidates. The registrar of JAMB acted promptly
and instructed the relevant directors to attend
to the institution’s request.
“We were quite ready as at last year, but
the NUC wanted us to show all the facilities.
The work of the registrar is very challenging
as one has to drive all the processes that make
the university what it is.”