JAMB boss supports ASUU on IPPIS, proliferation of varsities

 
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has said the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, as the payment platform for university workers is unsuitable for the university system.

Oloyede, who is former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, said necessary pressure must, therefore, be put on the Federal Government to jettison the IPPIS payment platform.

He spoke while delivering a lecture to mark the 71st birthday of Professor Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, which held via Zoom.

Speaking on the lecture entitled, “Synchronising cacophony: Interrogating some issues of concepts and perception in the Nigerian higher education topology,” Oloyede said: “I am not a fan of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, but they have a point here.

‘’IPPIS is unsuitable for the university system. Let me cite an instance. When I was the VC at the University of Ilorin, I went to Australia on an official assignment and there I met a Nigerian with Ph.D in an area of Botany where we lacked the manpower.

“I spoke with the man and convinced him of the need to work with us and he agreed. Immediately, I put a call to the Dean of the Faculty of Science and told him about the development and that was how we secured the services of the man. He is now a professor in one of the nation’s universities.

“Also, we must be careful of the number of universities we are having, especially the ones being set up by government agencies and the military. We already have the Nigerian Defence Academy, which trains officers for all the arms of the military. We also have the police academy that trains police officers, it can also help in training para-military men too.

We may soon have university of road safety

“In that regards, we don’t need more than one or two. If care is not taken, we will soon have university of road safety or university of civil defence. Adequately funding existing universities should be our focus.”

“ASUU, which is currently on a four-week strike, is also complaining about IPPIS and the indiscriminate establishment of universities by federal and state governments among other issues.”