From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Professor Jonathan Babalola, has warned researchers against relying on the contents of AI, saying it is illegal and academic crime.
Speaking on the theme: “Postgraduate Studies in Nigeria: The Past, the Present and the Future,” during the 60th anniversary of the postgraduate college of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
He described the reliance on AI as a serious academic crime, despite the benefits associated with the new technology. He noted the challenges facing postgraduate studies, including a lack of funding, stressing the need for the government to provide funding for education.
He described the popularly held opinion that government cannot fund education as a sign that Nigeria was not ready to develop, noting that all the countries that developed attained greatness by investing heavily in education.
“The government should fund education and stop proliferation. In other places, there is technical education where people produce manpower, which we are not. I think they should just fund education and stop the proliferation of higher education.
“The other solution is this: our policies should be research-driven. In places where things work, there would have been research and there would have been proof that such a thing will work.
“There’s also this issue that many Nigerians are certificate-driven. For postgraduate education to be successful, it shouldn’t be certificate-driven. What you are able to do should be what determines what you have or the type of job you occupy. If you just present a PhD certificate and then they give you the salary of a PhD holder, which is not what we are expecting. What you are able to deliver should be what you actually earn and I’m actually an advocate of “your productivity should determine the amount of money you earn”, Prof. Babalola said.
Similarly, the foundation provost of the college, Prof. Adeyinka Afolayan, also appealed to the government to invest in education, particularly the youths, saying that Nigeria has brilliant people who are capable of competing favourably with their counterparts in the world.
The current provost of the college, Professor Victor Olaleye, disclosed that the college had produced 29,887 graduates in the last 60 years of the establishment of the college.
He said: “Over the past 60 years, the college has produced 29,887 graduates who have achieved remarkable success globally, comprising 3,985 postgraduate diplomas; 13,813 professional masters; 8,247 masters with research thesis; 965 master of philosophy; 2,877 Doctor of Philosophy. The current student enrolment is 7,095 including 60 international students.”
The OAU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebayo Bamire, who was represented by Prof. Bola Babalola, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), said the university had recorded great achievements in research and innovation, noting that efforts were on to address other challenges.
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