News Investigators/ Some stakeholders have expressed divergent views on the proposed establishment of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) University for Trade and Technology.
While some welcomed the development, others fear it could become like some other academies where admission is difficult to get.
The stakeholders spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja
NAN) reports that the Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi announced in January that the Service had secured approval for the establishment of the university to be located in Badagry, Lagos.
Mr Adeniyi said that the aim was to enhance NCS`s operational efficiency and service delivery.
According to him, the institution is expected to become a centre of excellence for customs and trade-related studies, aimed at strengthening capacity building in Nigeria and the West African region.
He said that operationalising the university was a top priority of the service`s 2025 strategic plan.
An education expert, Elvis Boniface, said the establishment of the university would help address the shortage of universities in Nigeria.
According to him, in the United States, there are more than 3,000 top universities, including federal, state, and private institutions, along with community colleges.
He lamented that in spite Nigeria’s population of more than 200 million, the country had only 270 universities, resulting in a limited carrying capacity that accommodates just 20 per cent of applicants.
Mr Boniface said that establishing the university would contribute in boosting the chances of applicants in securing admission.
The expert said that specialised universities require significant resources for their operation, including administration, physical infrastructure, personnel, and accreditation, among others.
According to him, such critical issues must be considered and addressed before the commencement of operations for these universities including the customs university.
He said that thorough consultations were necessary to validate the need for establishing such institutions, especially if they could be carved out of existing public universities.
“My concern as an educator is how well have we managed specialised universities or institutes? Have we maintained their quality over the years, like the Nigerian Maritime Institute and the Institute of Fisheries.
“We have models in place, but we need to sit down and ask: how far have we fared? Can they run by themselves? Universities require significant funding from the government” he said.
Mr Boniface said that beyond teaching trade and technology, the university should also capture in its constitution, the teaching of ethics due to the alarming rate of smuggling activities at the Badagry area.
A public analyst, Bulus Dabit welcomed the proposed establishment of the university.
He expressed concern that only selected children of a certain class may get admission into the school, similar to other specialised universities
“We have witnessed the upgrade and establishments of military and paramilitary institutions in Nigeria with very clear intentions and objectives. Examples of such are the preponderance of universities owned by the Nigerian army and the police.
“Such universities seem to have been captured by the elites of that sector of our national economy. Many young applicants are under the impression that they can’t get admission in such schools,” he said
Mr Dabit said that to allay such fears, a protectionist policy for children from low-income backgrounds in Nigeria should be established to its universal application in all public schools.
He said if that was not done, it would be another university for children of the elites, particularly retired senior Custom officers or politicians as well as other influencial groups in the society.
NAN
