Non-employment of the vice-chancellor, registrar, teaching and non teaching staff is crippling the smooth take-off of the Zamfara State University, Talata-Mafara established by the immediate past governor, Abdulaziz Yari.
Yari established the university in his hometown Talata-Mafara and it was opened in May last year with over 700 students. But there were no teaching and non teaching staff to run the institution.
Briefing newsmen in Gusau on Saturday, the Special Adviser to Governor Bello Matawalle in charge of Higher Education, Alhaji Abdullahi Bore, said the institution was haphazardly created and opened by Yari in May last year without both academic and non- academic staff.
Abdullahi said the students were given admission and had even reported for academic activities without the vice-chancellor, the registrar and teaching staff.
“Even the construction work in the institution is not up to 50 per cent completion,” he added.
“How can anybody imagine a university to begin operation without the vice chancellor, the registrar, the staff and other administrative staff?” queried the special adviser.
He explained that there were currently few lecturers in the institution who provided voluntary lectures to the students, adding that, “they too are complaining that they have never been paid some allowances as promised by the former administration of Abdul’aziz Yari”.
Bore, however, maintained that, with the coming of Bello Matawalle as the governor of the state, arrangements were now put in place to ensure the smooth take-off of the university.
He declared that the state government would soon appoint the vice-chancellor and registrar for the institution, while recruitment of the lecturers would also follow immediately.
He advised the students who have been admitted to the university to exercise patience, stressing that normal academic activities would soon commence in the institution.
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