BY IFEANYI UWAGWU
THE Vice-Chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Prof Samuel Asagba, has expressed deep concern over the alarming number of uncollected certificates lying in the institution’s custody, disclosing that more than 50,000 academic certificates have remained unclaimed, some for over two decades.
Prof Asagba made this known while speaking with journalists during an interactive session organised to mark his first anniversary in office. He described the situation as troubling, noting that many graduates only remember to collect their certificates when they are invited for job interviews or other official engagements that require proof of academic qualification.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the university has continued to safeguard these certificates over the years, including those belonging to graduates who later returned to the institution for further studies or even took up employment within the university system.
He revealed that the university is considering a review of certificate-related fees, stressing that even a charge of N80,000 would not be excessive given the length of time the documents have been kept unclaimed.
Prof Asagba added that DELSU would soon publish the names of certificate owners in national newspapers and introduce a system that allows graduates to request courier delivery of their certificates through an online platform.
Beyond the issue of uncollected certificates, the Vice-Chancellor used the forum to call on the Federal Government to urgently resolve lingering disagreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), stressing that lecturers deserve better treatment and respect.
He argued that salary reviews for university lecturers should not be preceded by agitation or industrial action, but rather carried out quietly and systematically every four years, as is done in other sectors of the economy.
“It is high time ASUU is called and negotiated with, and salaries streamlined. They don’t have to be waiting for us to cry out every time. This thing can be done silently and seamlessly every four years without the public even knowing,” he said.
Prof Asagba lamented what he described as the gradual erosion of the status of academics in Nigeria, recalling that in the 1960s, the salary of a university professor was equivalent to that of a Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“There was a time in the 60s when a professor’s salary was equivalent to that of the Chief Justice in Nigeria, but today, that is not the case,” he said, adding that lecturers should not be made to suffer before being listened to.
He urged the government to recognise universities as critical stakeholders in national development and to engage the academic community more constructively for the sake of students and the country’s youth population.
The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted DELSU’s academic stability, noting that the institution has not experienced any strike action in the past decade. According to him, everything federal universities are currently agitating for has long been in place at DELSU, a situation he said has ensured uninterrupted academic calendars.
He cited his personal experience, stating that his daughter was able to complete her studies and graduate within three and a half years due to the absence of industrial action.
