By Martin Paul
Abuja
University administrators have been charged to improve their capacities on Information Communication Technology (ICT) with a view to meeting the challenges of universities.
A former Registrar of Ekiti State University, Dr. Omojola Awosusi, gave the charge while delivering the first Annual Registry Lecture Series of the University of Ilorin with the theme: “The University of the Future: Challenges and Prospects for the University Administrator”.
Awosusi, who is also a former chairman of the Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU), pointed out that for administrators to function in the university of the future, there was the need for training and re-training on the technology that would drive the system.
“The challenges facing administrators of the now and which will create panic if not embarrassment for them in the University of the future, include rapidity of innovation in ICT, emergence of new jobs, stability of tenure, training, performance management, outsourcing, customer restlessness, innovations in events management to mention a few”, he said.
He stressed that the administrators, who are deficient in the use of basic ICT tools such as Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint, would be shocked by the university of the future, submitting that “universities may not have room for secretaries in the nearest future”.
The Guest Speaker opined that there are great prospects in the university of the future for administrators, who could hone their attitudinal, technical and communication skills, stressing that those “who would work on their attitude would rule the future. “Attitude to the customers of our universities and the stakeholders will determine our relevance in the days to come”, Awosusi said, adding that “those with great positive attitude to work and to the system will reap the rewards of hard work directly or indirectly”, he added.
While recalling that writing and university education started from Africa, Awosusi cautioned the old generation universities in Nigeria against complacency as he predicted that the new generation private universities will overtake them in the next 20 years if the current trend continues.
Earlier in his opening address, the chairman of the occasion and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, enjoined all members of the university staff to take advantage of the opportunities for training and re-training provided by the university administration to develop themselves and the system.
His address entitled: “Deliver the Goods”, Ambali, who was with all the other principal officers of the university, stated that the lecture topic was a wake-up call to the university administrators to realise the imperative of embracing change”.
