Tussle Over VC Deepens In Katsina Varsity As Aspirant Writes Minister

The crisis rocking the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), Katsina State, over the selection of candidates for the position of the Vice Chancellor has taken a new dimension.

Last week, Daily Trust had reported how a crisis erupted after the university’s governing council shortlisted candidates for interview for the VC role.

Checks showed that since its establishment in 2010 by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, FUDMA has been enmeshed in a crisis over the selection of vice-chancellors.

However, a fresh twist emerged when one of the contestants, Prof. Rasheed Hamzat, sent a three-page letter to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, detailing the alleged violations of guidelines by the selection committee.

The letter, a copy obtained exclusively by our correspondent, claimed that the committee violated a 10-year professorial experience and the requirement that the professor be under 64 years of age as stipulated in the guidelines.

It partly read, “I wish to draw your attention to the above subject. The guidelines regarding the qualifications of the vice chancellor are obvious and specific. It states that the person appointed Vice Chancellor must be a professor with at least 10 years’ experience.”

“Furthermore, concerning age as a criterion for consideration for the position of Vice Chancellor, the guideline unambiguously submits that the person must not be more than 64 years at the time of assumption of duty.

“Notwithstanding, however, the Governing Council of Federal University Dutsin-Ma blatantly went directly against these in its advertorial. The implication is that a Professor of less than one year‘s experience can also qualify as the Vice Chancellor.”

Hamzat, a professor of Agriculture, also faulted the composition of the selection committee, arguing that it violates the provisions of the guidelines for the appointment of the Vice Chancellor.

“Consequently, this anomaly produced a list of six unqualified candidates for the position of vice chancellor, Federal University Dutsin-Ma. Indeed, some of these short-listed candidates had less than 3 years of professorial experience, contrary to the guidelines for appointing Vice Chancellor and the Honourable Minister’s directive,” he added.