THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
THE LASU OF OUR DREAM AND THE ROLE OF
STUDENTS IN THIS JOURNEY.
It is said that “A journey of a thousand mile begin with a step” but if I can rephrase, I will quote it as “the
journey of a thousand miles begin with a step forward” as taking a step backwards only increase it to a thousand and
one steps.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, and I quote “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to
think critically. Intelligent plus character – that is the goal of true education” and this is by far what my dream for
LASU is, to teach intelligence with application of character.
BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR NOBLE INSTITUTION.
Lagos State University (LASU) is a public university located at Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria, and it is the only state
university in the former British colony.
It was established in 1983 by the enabling Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, for the advancement of learning
and establishment of academic excellence.
LASU was conceived as a multi-campus, collegiate and non-residential University. Today, Lagos State
University operates a multi-campus system with four fully owned campuses having its main campus at Ojo (along the
Badagry Expressway) and other campuses at Epe (where the Engineering Faculty is located), Ikeja (where the
College of Medicine is located), and Surulere (where the Satellite campus is located), as well as six
external/affiliated campuses.
The Chancellor of the university is Molade Alexandria Okoya-Thomas FCNA, MFR, OFR, and KSS. The
Vice Chancellor of the university is Professor Olarenwaju Adigun Fagbohun. The Pro Chancellor is Professor
Adebayo M. A. Ninalowo Ph.D. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Admin) is Professor Olisamedua Fidelis Njokanma. The
current Student Union President is Sekoni Taofeek Tayo.
All in all, the University caters for a population of over 61,000. The students are enrolled in full-time and
part-time programmes at the Diploma, Undergraduate and Postgraduates. Lagos State University offers diploma,
degree and postgraduate and its MBA programme is reputed to be one the highly revered in the country.
The citadel is also known for various powerful staff union agitations especially the lecturers’ ASUU,
non-teaching staff’s SSANU, NASU and others. The union of the students is called LASUSU (Lagos State University
Student Union), which is one the best in the country.
The State University which is known as the undisputed best state owned university in Nigeria and the 9th best
university in the Federation. It has alumni such as actresses Chioma Chukwuka and Dolly Unachukwu, actor Desmond
Elliot, former EFCC boss Farida Waziri amongst others. It also boost of a robust academic staff which include
highly respected political science scholar – Professor Abubakar Momoh, thespian – Dr. Sola Fosudo, actor –
Doyin Hassan.
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
The motto of LASU: per verita e di servizio (For Truth and Service).
POSITIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ROLES PLAYED BY
STUDENTS.
There is no direction and angle I will start from without commending the great effort applied by some great
and noble students into making the university a safe haven for students and a greater work towards reduction of the
school fees which sadly sent so many students packing.
I will also make warm regards towards students who academically have taken LASU to higher heights by
winning of competitions such as debates, quizzes and sports.
The camaraderie displayed by the students in their readiness to kick out cultism and strong disregard of
indecent dressing is greatly appreciated as we are moving from nowhere to somewhere. I vehemently believe that in
the nearest future to come, all these wrong doings will be long forgotten. I hope they continue to strive because
Aluta continua victoria acerta.
CHALLENGES.
Like every other university, LASU too has its own challenges; I will carefully elaborate and elucidate so as
to give us an in-depth sight of what I will discuss.
The challenges facing LASU are complex. It is a combination of limited access, increasing cost, decreasing
quality, and inflexibility in courses, we all know that an educated citizenry is crucial to the social, political, economic
and cultural vitality of our communities and the country as a whole. Struggling economies and obsolete organizational
structures are among the issues facing university education in Nigeria today. Perhaps the most formidable task
confronting LASU is to articulate the triple relationship between the mission of the university and the specific needs
of LASU’s political, social, economic and cultural environment, and the characteristics of a rapidly changing world.
Nigeria university education is based on a centuries old system of knowledge organization, largely influenced
by 19th century academic traditions. How is LASU to survive in the formation and higher demand for higher education
degree today? Today, a college degree has become a necessity for most careers, and graduate education desirable
for an increasing number. A fast growing population will necessitate some growth in higher education to
accommodate the increasing number of college age students seeking for college degrees. “Yet the potential of higher
education system in developing countries to fulfil this responsibility is frequently thwarted by long-standing problems of
finance, efficiency, equity, quality and governance” – Salmi’ (2001)
This essay focuses on the issues of market forces, education for world-class citizens, faculty exodus, money
and management, social / political issues, management styles and the structure of Lagos State University, and seeks for
a reformation in the university. LASU I believe is founded to seek the truth through the development of knowledge,
and manpower personnel. I believe they were also founded for the scientific and technological advancement of the
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
society, as well as to its material and cultural development.
Adam (1977) said, “Education systems were said to produce the skilled manpower and the new knowledge
requisite for technological advancement and economic growth”. LASU must reorganize its fundamental role in shaping
the human resources necessary for societal development and its responsibility to help solve social and cultural problems.
It should recognise the universal value of debate for the development of humankind, science, art, culture and sports.
MARKET FORCES
Some of the market forces affecting LASU are Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), matching
education to job demands and infrastructure inadequacies. The Joint Admission and Matriculation board have caused a
lot of concern for both parents and candidates in Nigeria who has been writing JAMB and also who wrote this year.
Some candidates sit for the exam for years without gaining admission to any university. These have led to cheating or
taking unpopular career course in order to gain admission. I think LASU should in the regard reduce the age limit of
admission to 15 years.
Mojo (2000) said “Access to higher education and the lack of the capacity of the system to absorb the
numbers of student seeking admission to higher education institutions”.
For example, it is estimated that out of the 3000000 JAMB candidates seeking admission to university
education, more than 2500000, which is about 80% will not gain admission to any of the over 35 Nigerian university.
And it is estimated that out of about 50000 that choose LASU in JAMB, more than 35000, which is about 70% will
not gain admission. So we expect the minimum age limit of admission into LASU to be reduced and there should be
need for transfer of student to other departments who cannot make the cut-off mark for the ones they choose, this
administration should try to increase the number of admission granted into the institution.
Secondly, since it takes candidates a while to gain admission into the university education, a good number
opt for any course. By so doing the course will not be job matched with the education of the students.
The infrastructure inadequacy in the LASU is another area that poses hindrance to learning and research
work. LASU is offering technological education programmes. The question is, does it have enough infrastructures to
run the programme. For example, students offering computer courses, graduate without touching a computer, student
offering physics may graduate without knowing what a capacitor or a resistor is, an electrical electronic engineering
student may not even know the difference between a 9mm wire and a 16mm wire, a zoology student who has studied
about so many animals graduate without seeing any. In a nutshell, there is need for so many infrastructures and much
practical classes. Onyekakeyah said, “The death of infrastructure in the public universities is sickening and runs short
of an ideal academic environment”.
Odetunde (2004) said, “Unfortunately, today students are learning in dilapidated building, environmentally
depressing and learning disabling situation and yet some of these students are excelling”. I truly agree with what
Odetunde said, but because one student is fine in that condition doesn’t mean others or majority are. LASU is in a
state where student study and hold practical classes in classroom and laboratory where their ceilings are already
falling off, or the windows are broken, or the chairs are bad etc. I felt sad when a predecessor of mine of about 20
years ago commented on the infrastructures, he said he used them exactly 20 years ago, and it saddens him that there
are the same equipment we are using in 2016. For students, it is simply to acquire certificates, and not the
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
development of their cognitive and social powers. A revisit to our present day recruitment and retention exercises need
a crucial attention. I strongly request for new equipment and renovation of dilapidated the structures.
The mission of LASU should not be limited to these goals alone. They have to put into consideration the
larger society’s needs and the construction of knowledge. LASU must therefore shape its curricula offerings to fit the
demands of the market in a particular context and period, without losing sight of encouraging full human development.
They cannot be confined to provide the human resources demands by the market. To do so would limit the social
relevance of higher education. The challenge of LASU is to conduct the university’s affairs in a way that it is
relevant to a historical moment gripped by rapid change.
EDUCATION FOR WORLD-CLASS LASUITES
There is also need to make research the centre of the institution’s activity, taking into account the social,
cultural, religious, and political problems that we Nigerians now face. Financial and administrative limitations and lack
of resources, intellectual stimulation and incentives demand that we find new strategies to advance this ambition.
Okebukola (2002) said, “There is a diminishing scope of mentoring junior researchers by seasoned and
senior researchers due to brain drain”. Despite the increasing value of research in the world economy based on the
supremacy of knowledge, and constant technological change, budgetary constraints and the belief that research is
costly have resulted in the virtual disappearance of research centres in Nigeria university, LASU inclusive. There is
need to seek alternative sources of financing research through private and public sectors. In doing so, LASU needs to
talk about the benefits to students of linking teaching and learning with scientific research. LASU educational system
should be tailored to match international standard, viz. curriculum, computer proficiency, and student / staff ratio.
Students need to become familiar with the freedom of choice and expression, the free flow of ideas, and
access to systems of information and means of communication based on new technologies. THE NATIONAL
UNIVERSITY COMMISION SURVEY DISCOVERED THAT ONLY 30 PERCENT OF NIGERIAN STUDENT
POPULATION HAS ADEQUATE ACCESS TO CLASSROOMS, LECTURE THEATRES, LABORATORIES,
WORKSHOP AND LIBRARIES. Students need to have all the basic infrastructure and conducive environment for
active learning to take place. Students need to be prepared not only as professionals but also citizens who are able
to act intelligently and live in a democratic society. The students need to be acquainted with the complexity of the
information that they will manage. There is need to develop the capacity for compiling, producing, applying, and
critically evaluating information extracted from international debates, laboratories, and libraries, and directly from the
working world. Doing so will make LASU a rich haven for students.
MONEY AND MANAGEMENT
The growing and changing nature of higher education needs will trigger strong economic forces. Already,
the traditional source of funding –state support has simply not kept pace with the growing demand. This imbalance
between demand and available resources is aggravated by the increasing cost of higher education, driven as they are
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
by the number of students seeking admission into LASU. The weakening influences of traditional source of funding
are the emergence of increased admission into the LASU. The societal needs, economic realities and technology, are
likely to drive massive restructuring of higher education enterprise. This will need a global knowledge and learning
industry, and the need for LASU to converge with other knowledge-intensive organizations such information services,
companies and telecommunications.
Financial restrictions also create problems that obstruct academic work, causing friction between LASU
and the government, thus threatening the stability of the institutions. The problems are more visible in areas of faculty
salaries, libraries, equipment, research and quality of students entering LASU today. Ajuzie (2001) said, “The existing
orthodox education in Nigeria seems to suffer from inadequate funding” LASU inclusive.
Babalola said, “The schools today are ill equipped and lecturers are poorly trained. Standard is falling in all
departments”. “Over 70 per cent of the laboratory equipment and library books in today’s Nigerian University, for
example, were bought and placed between 1960s and 1980” (Nigeria university systems. Chronicler, December 2004).
I strongly agree with this point as this is also a major challenge facing our beloved institution.
These are largely due to insufficient funding of the higher education system in Nigeria. Other problems
facing LASU are poor human resources; poor funding of LASU; ceaseless strikes by staffs; insufficient endowment
fund and assistance from alumni and community; indiscipline on the part of lecturers and student; poor security;
gangsters and cultism; and dependence on government.
SOCIAL / POLITICAL ISSUES
There are also fiscally induced tensions that generate negative impact e.g.; cultic cases, economic and
political pressures.
Olujuwon (2004) commented, “The tertiary institutions that are established to promote intellectual excellence, good
virtues etc, have deviated. We are faced daily with reports of students caught in armed robbery, rape, assassination etc.
LASU is so drowned in all these that it really needs reform on these issues and iron hand to tackle such misconduct
and proper orientation to student and the penalty for such evil acts. LASU should have undercover students who will
help fish out these culprits after which they should be expelled after proper investigation and then handed over to the
authorities for proper litigation.
MANAGEMENT STYLE AND THE STRUCTURE OF LASU
Another area of close examination is the management style and the structure of LASU. There are
allegations of politically motivated decision making, mutual back scratching, patronage and partisanship that have
permeated LASU.
The world ranking of universities published by institute of higher education of Shanghai Jiao Tong
University had exposed the ills in the management of all universities in the country (Guardian Newspapers, December
2005)
One other problem is the quality of products turned over to the university by primary and secondary schools.
Also the politicization, lack of resources, and frequent crisis of authority have further exacerbated this situation.
Added to this is the proliferation of academic programs.
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS EDUCATED IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEARNED HOW TO LEARN AND
CHANGE – CARL ROGERS
In the 1960 till late 80s, each Nigerian university was known as an expert in certain programmes. Today it is
a different scenario, as the university want to run programmes from University teaching hospital to having a nuclear
department. To this, LASU will have a massive influx of unprepared students whom the universities will admit without
increase resources to address their special needs.
There is need for LASU to change from conventional sources of graduates to becoming engines of
community development. Nigeria needs a new generation of Lasuites that can serve as engines of both community
development and social renewal. Fundamental reforms will be needed in the curriculum design, lecturing and
management of LASU. The university need to help solve the economic, social and environmental challenges that the
authorities in Ojo face. LASU should play a role in promoting infrastructure development. To promote reform in the
existing university management, in order to bring research, training and outreach activities to the service of the
people, it will require deliberation, collaborative efforts by government, academia, business and civil society to reinvent
LASU education system and put it the service of the people. This will require a qualitative change in the goals,
function and structure of LASU.
Kerr (1993) commented, “For the first time, international world of learning, highly competitive, is emerging.
If you want to get into that orbit, you have to do on merit. You cannot rely on politics or anything else”. LASU must
have a good deal of autonomy for them to be dynamic and to move fast in international competition. LASU must
have to develop entrepreneurial leadership to go along with institutional autonomy.
LASU’s education system needs a reformation for it to meet the societal needs. Academic reform cannot
work unless relations among LASU authorities, faculty, students and government are redefined on a basis of mutual
respect and collaboration. It is likely to understand that the most critical challenge facing LASU will be to develop
the capacity of change. LASU must seek to remove the constraints that prevent it from responding to the needs of a
rapidly changing society. This can only be achieved by introducing democratic university structures and management
styles. For LASU to meet with the standard of higher education in the changing world today, it will require a global
reform. Finally, perhaps this is the greatest challenge for LASU, and the most important role of our leadership, in the
years ahead.
In conclusion with all what I have written, I believe it is just a tip of the ice berg, and our ability to act fast
shows how prepared and committed we are to making LASU the best in Nigeria which can compete globally, I am
ready to put my selfless service in affiliation with the Vice Chancellor to face the challenges heads on and achieve
success in no time. And for the critiques who may think this is impossible, I leave you with the words of former South
African president Nelson Mandela who said, “Everything usually seems impossible until it is done”. THANK YOU.
ALUTA COTINUA VICTORIA ACERTA.
WE ARE LASU AND WE ARE PROUD.
NAME: IDRIS MUHAMMAD AWWAL.
MAT NO: 140571011.
DEPT: PHYSICS.
FAC: SCIENCES.
THE GREAT AIM OF EDUCATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE BUT ACTION – HERBERT SPENCER
THE ONLY
