Bauchi Forum Condemns ATBU’s Plan to Close Faculties
A coalition of civil society groups, the Bauchi State Citizens Forum, has voiced strong opposition to a plan by the management of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) to close several faculties and academic programs. The forum, in a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat, warned that the move would be a major setback for education in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the forum, Comrade Abdullahi Yalwa and Jibrin Sa’id Jibrin, Esq., stated that they were “seriously worried, concerned, and alarmed” by the university’s decision, which they said would negatively impact the educational aspirations of thousands of students.
A “Direct Attack” on Development
The forum leaders asserted that the decision is a “direct attack on the developmental aspirations of the people of Bauchi state and beyond.” They highlighted the fact that Bauchi is the only state in the North-East without a conventional federal university, making ATBU’s expansion, not contraction, a critical priority.
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The group specifically criticized the university’s current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Hassan Garba, a non-indigene, for veering away from the developmental path laid by his predecessors. They claimed that the VC’s administration plans to close faculties like Management Sciences, thereby denying many students, a significant number of whom are from Bauchi State, the opportunity to receive a university education.
The forum also accused the administration of not being keen on facilitating the resource verification for the university’s distance learning center and nearly 50 new degree courses that were approved during the previous administration.
Call for Government Intervention
The forum noted that these plans are in direct opposition to ongoing legislative efforts, championed by Senator Shehu Buba, to transform ATBU into a conventional university. They described the university’s move to shrink its academic offerings as a “greatest disservice, sabotage and assault on the educational drive of our people.”
The Bauchi State Citizens Forum called on the Federal Government and the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, to intervene and stop the university’s plans. They urged the Bauchi State government, traditional institutions, and citizens to join the effort to ensure that the university’s progress is not reversed.
By PRNigeria
