LAGOS (Sundiata Scholar) – Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), has called for collective effort to combat corruption in African education.
Olatunji-Bello made the call at the second education summit, organised by the Centre for General Nigerian Studies (CGNS), LASU, on Tuesday, in Lagos.
The theme of the summit is: “Fostering Integrity and Peace: Tackling Corruption and Promoting Ethical Leadership in African Education”.
She said that there was a need to promote ethical leadership, as integrity and leadership were crucial to shaping the future of education on the continent.
“There is no better time to discuss this theme than now. It is not only apt but also timely, relevant, and appropriate, given the current situation in our society.
“The centre’s innovative GNS e-learning platform has been a significant asset, not only in assessing large classes, but also in enhancing the learning experience for all programmes.
“Such initiatives showcase our commitment to embracing technology in education,” Olatunji-Bello said.
She said that the summit also included a focus on the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, ensuring that as new technologies are adopted, people do so with integrity and responsibility.
The Director, CGNS, Prof. Mubashiru Mohammed, said that the theme was carefully considered and chosen by scholars, to address the gap in the present situation of the country.
Mohammed said that the summit provided a platform for the young academic teaching staff to present quality papers to be published in the CGNS journal, for their career advancement.
“Aside from teaching of the GNS courses, the centre has continued to push the frontier of excellence in the university through its laudable programmes, collaborations, lectures, classroom teaching and production of GNS Compendium.
“This platform was later adopted for the conduct of the GNS examinations last semester, which the students wrote in the comfort of their homes and hostels.
“Some directorates had equally leveraged this noble platform to conduct their examinations.
“Alayande University had written to LASU to collaborate, in order to adopt this e-learning GNS platform initiative in their university,” he said.
Prof. Sylvester Fajonyomi, Professor of Education Management Industry, advised students and staff in academics to always imbibe ethics in schools, to avoid corruption and begging for scores.
Fajonyomi, a lecturer at the Department of Public Administration, LASU, said ethics is human, as absence of credibility in institutions reflects and affects academics.
“We must respect the rules of the university as students and staff because everyone is equal and aligns with the standards,” he said.
Prof. Simeon Dosunmu, Committee Chairman of the programme, urged education stakeholders to forge frameworks; foster fellowship; and fuel a future where African education would stand as a global example of integrity and innovation. (NAN)
