National Institute for Nigerian Languages, NINLAN, Aba, Abia State, has
stated that the institute is being frustrated from fulfilling its mandate
of mass producing teachers of Nigerian languages by the National
Universities Commission, NUC.
Speaking to journalists at the Institute’s permanent site, Ovom, Aba,
NINLAN’s Acting Executive Director, Prof. Obiajulu Emejulu, stated that
NINLAN was set up in 1993 as a degree awarding institution, but the NUC
has failed to allow the institute to run degree programmes.
He said; “NINLAN was set up as a degree awarding institution from
inception in 1993. Unfortunately, the NUC for various reasons which we
consider political, has never allowed this institute to start running
Degree programmes. We have gone through six Executive Secretaries of NUC,
and the problem has remained the same. They always give one excuse or the
other. At one time, they said Institutes doesn’t award degrees. We said
no, that such is laughable, because all over the world there are lots of
institutes who award degrees. What the Act that established you stipulate
is what you do.
“Recently, they said the academic body that runs the institution is named
Academic Board and not Senate. They said Senate are the ones who award
degrees, but we said it was not true because NINLAN was set up to award
degrees and that the body was named Academic board isn’t a problem.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, we have the Police Institute in Kano, now awarding
degrees, the Army has NDA and it awards degrees. When we brought this, the
NUC stopped talking about it, now we have submitted proposal to the
National Assembly to change our Academic Board to Senate if that will
help.
“The current NUC said we should go for affiliation with the University of
Uyo. An institution that already has a law to run degree programmes is now
going for affiliation? But because we have waited for 23 years, we are
tired; we want something to start happening here, we are also pursuing the
affiliation option to UNIUYO.
“We are ready to do anything that can be done to bring degree students
here. Students hardly come here because they find it difficult to move to
degree programmes after Diploma. The day the degree students come here,
that NINLAN is born anew. Our diploma programmes will become vibrant and
research and facilities will grow.”