Shun academic dishonesty, Unilorin VC tells lecturers

The vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin,  Professor Sulyman Abdukareem has appealed to Nigerian lecturers to shun “academic dishonesty.’’ 

Abdulkareem made the appeal Monday in Ilorin at an interactive session on promotion guidelines for academic staff of the university.

The vice chancellor condemned  the unnecessary recycling of old works  to produce substandard journals in desperation for career progression.

He said the essence of the interactive session  was to explain to the academic staff of the university the new rules for promotion.

“Once rules are met, no one will be denied his promotion; nobody will change the rules in the middle of the game,’’ he said.

He gave an assurance that the university would  continue to respond to changes in the university system while the rules would  be dynamic to conform with  international best practices.

The vice chancellor, however,  appealed to members of staff who may not be favoured by the rules at a particular time not to be  discouraged by such temporary set-back so as not to impede  future opportunities.

The Chairman of the university’s Library and Publications Committee, Prof. Saliu Ambali, assured the lecturers that all the proposals aggregated by his committee were intended to bring out the best in them.

He said the proposals  will ensure that promotion exercises in the university conform with global best practices.

“The university’s management has nothing to gain in the stagnation of its staff members, particularly those in the academic segment.

“The university would not sacrifice merit for any other consideration, as such, staff  must show more interest and imbibe all the factors that are often considered in their annual promotion exercise.

“Henceforth, promotion guidelines will be open in such a way that staff can easily assess themselves to know where they stand and their eligibility for promotion,’’ he said.

Ambali challenged the academic staff to ensure they look for reputable outlets to publish articles, saying publications in substandard journals or “journals without proven integrity” would  no longer be accepted.

Chairman of the  institution’s chapter of  Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr Usman Raheem, commended the committee for “a very proactive reaction to the yearnings of the university’s academic staff over the years.’’

He said the innovations would  reduce tension in the system and promote intellectual productivity.

Raheem, however, called for more funding for research and conferences to boost career progression of lecturers and  also improve their skills.

He said increased funding would  also enhance the image of the university in order to accentuate its ranking among its peers.

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