Prof. Charles Etim Akpan Uko who is a professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Uyo, recently at the 4th inaugural lectures of the institution, lamented the quality of degrees produced by engineering students, blaming it on faulty admission process. FRANCIS OGAR reports
What are the challenges in tackling building collapse in Nigeria?
The challenge is multi-level. There are two issues here. One is the social conditions of the country. The other is the engineering aspect of it. The social one has to do with people who are not engineers. The first issue is that there is a lot of impurity in the country. People just do things and say people can go to hell. So a man will be building a house designed for two floors and suddenly decides to increase it up to six floors and say people can go to hell. And sometimes they were very powerful people in the society. You may go there, and may not allow you to enter the site. Why you are doing that is to ask questions, for the drawings and whether they have the approval sometimes you may be blocked by security personnel. So that has to do with the so-call aspect of it. That problem is mainly caused by the owner of the facility. Then the technical aspect is that buildings are supposed to be supervised by professionals, registered engineers.
Are you satisfied with the quality of service offered by Nigeria Engineers?
I am not. It is a matter of policy and I pray that one day it will change. But thank God, the local content of Oil and Gas Policy has changed. Nigerians are now getting contracts worth multi billion of Nigeria in the Oil and Gas. In the Construction Industry, we need to do that too. The major problem is that if we do not empower people patronize foreigners. A look at the foreigners that come here, how many of them came with equipment to this country. But when they come you give them jobs worth’s 20 Billion Naira. Some times pay them as much as 40% advance payment. The man takes out about 8 billion a buy equipment fill the whole place, keeps 5 billion for the work and people say that they have equipments. Where did they get the money from?
Does the recent case of mass failure in public exams pose any threat to engineering profession?
Yes it poses a threat. When we have problems in Nigeria, instead of solving it, we look for a Bye-Pass. When I was in secondary school, they used to grade certificates in distinction, Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3. Suddenly they said it was no more. We used to enter university with 5 credits in one sitting and they said that candidates were no longer passing exams. They changed it to 5 credits in two sittings. In my class in the University of Nigeria Nsukka, virtually every student had done Additional Mathematics which they called Further Mathematics now.
Many Universities today, except a few, more than 60% of engineering students never touched further or additional mathematics. That is why we have some problems. University of Lagos is different among those schools. In the University of Lagos you must get further Mathematics in the 5 credits at one sitting which must include Mathematics, Chemistry, Physic, and English Language for engineering. It shows in their performance. Look at their convocation, the Faculty of Engineering may have up to 25 First Class, because of the quality of intake that go in there.
So we need to go back there. We have discussed it sometimes at some levels but some people say some schools have no elementary mathematics and where will they have further mathematics. I say that we should sit down like that. Let us give them 3 years to change and that they should have credit in further Mathematics, before going to do engineering, because it is a mathematical science.
So, what is your experience in the University of Uyo.
We have the same problem. The students that come in here are not in the level that I would like to teach. As far as I am concerned everybody would have done further mathematics and passed. That is the problem we see now with very poor degree results. you find out that in a whole year in a set of faculty you admitted about 500 students by the time they graduate, you do not have up to 10 first class division.
When they managed to come out in the first year and you look at the result, the student is already a third class material from year one. So we need to insist that this must change and by the Grace of God it can change.
Our graduates are often regarded as half baked. What is the problem?
The issue of half baked is multi dimensional. Yes, somebody may be half baked in a particular area generally because of who taught him. If the lecturer did not cover the content that he was supposed to cover and give exams that student becomes deficient. But I know that even in the midst of all that is going on now there are some lecturers that have done very well and their students are living up to expectations.
So you need to talk of the qualities of teachers. When Governor Adams Oshiomhole started testing teachers in Edo State, the Union went on strikes that he wants to disgrace and exposed their nakedness. The aim of that exercise was the people already employed to get them trained properly.
What is the way forward for Nigeria?
Well, we have to do so many things. The first one is that we must have to stop corruption or minimize it. Then plan early properly. Don’t just wake up and sign contract on power that nobody has studied the contract document very well. If you do that, we end up wasting so much money. Stop White Elephant Projects. There are certain things we do not need now such as the hostels we are building. Government should keep its hands away from those things. There are more serious needs for roads and educational facilities.
