The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Abubakar Adamu Rasheed has said in line with global best practices, Nigerian Librarians would no longer witness haphazard and fragmented treatment in career progression.
Prof Rasheed made the disclosure during the bi- annual conference of the Association of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities (AULNU) held at the Nigeria National Merit House Abuja over the weekend.
To this end, the universities’ regulatory body is putting in place necessary administrative frameworks for actualising the goal.
He stated that the library system globally is undergoing transformation through digitisation and Nigerian universities cannot afford to be left behind.
Rasheed emphasised on the importance of the e- components of library, which according to him, will make learning more conducive to both students and researchers.
In his words: “Lack of digitisation makes plagiarism very possible. As a nation we must enhance our e- capacity in our universities”.
He charged members of the body to be up and doing in order to maximise the gains of career progression even as he commended the association for its achievements and keeping members together.
Earlier in his keynote address, Dr Christopher Nkiko of Elizade University said the theme of this year’s conference: “Career Progression of Academic Librarians in Nigerian Universities – Matters Arising and the Way Forward,” was timely because it presupposed unfinished business and the need to expand the frontiers of the discourse.
Nkiko disclosed that Nigerian librarians enjoyed academic status like their faculty counterparts since 1948 to 1975 when the Udoji Commission report erroneously classified and generalised librarians as non- academic staff and commended NUC for revising that anomaly by returning full academic status to librarians in Nigerian universities.
