Professor Isaac Rotimi Ajayi is the Vice Chancellor of Wellspring University in Benin City, the Edo State capital. In this interview with Edward Oseghe, Professor Ajayi speaks on how Nigeria’s educational system can better serve the evolving needs of the marketplace, moves to ease affordability of learning and the value of integrity in all facets of life, among other matters. Excerpts:

What is the peculiar value proposition of Wellspring University, what does it set out to do different from other Nigerian universities?
In Wellspring University, we are concerned and focused about the future of our students and so, principally we are trying to do our best to prepare them for that future. And you know the world is changing so rapidly that you just need to be well equipped if you want to survive in the world of the future. So, we are concerned and what we are doing is to make our students future-fit.

That comes with first of all equipping them with intellectual knowledge which is basic and then also developing their leadership ability. We also are concerned about innovation and creativity. We try to promote that because in the world of the future you need to be creative and innovative. We also know the value of digital skills because this is an era of digital technology so, we are also ensuring that they are well equipped with essential digital skills that they need to survive and to thrive. The idea is to make them holistically prepared to face the future. That is what really distinguishes us from other universities.

When was Wellspring University established and how has it fared so far in your estimation and in the estimation of external bodies?
Wellspring University was established in 2009 and now we are about 16 years old. The university has run since that inception to date and has graduated about thirteen sets and these graduates are positioned in various sectors of the global economy. Normally a university is rated by the products. Our products speak to the quality of our education here. Many of these graduates are well positioned and they are making very meaningful contributions. We are proud of them. Some of them are in paid employment, others are entrepreneurs and successful entrepreneurs at that. Time will not allow me to run through the list. I know of one of them in the garment industry for instance, who is making very good progress. We have many of them also who have proceeded to some very prestigious universities abroad to acquire higher degrees. We have many of them who have acquired their PhDs.

So, the university has been running and we have grown, not just in terms of student numbers. We started with a modest number and now we have a good number of students. We are also growing in course offerings. We started with just 7 courses and now we have 24 course offerings. We are constantly updating our curricula and this whole idea of producing future-fit graduates makes us to rejig our curricula to ensure that it is something that can really equip our students with the requisite knowledge that they need to function in the future. So, the university has made quite tremendous progress so far.

In the town and gown debate, it is said that the graduates of many Nigerian universities are more often than not lacking in currency, as well as practical and cutting-edge skills required in the workplace and that the universities hardly conduct studies and researches that are of any value to larger society. What is your position on this and does Wellspring University fall into this category?
Yes, we are aware of this and that is why what we are doing here is to really change that narrative. In the past, students in some environments were graduated without concern about some skills that they needed to have and of course some universities engaged in researches that really were not of any direct benefit to the society. We are mindful of that and that is why we are doing everything to give practical knowledge to our students, knowledge that they can really apply.

That is why in Wellspring University we emphasise entrepreneurship education. We also make our students to go for internship, all of our students studying technology and mass communication for instance go for internship, industrial work experience. It’s a way to make them really exposed to practical education of the knowledge that they have acquired.

In terms of research, gone are those days that the universities had plenty of money to undertake just any research, some of which may not have any direct application. Not all researches really will find immediate application. There are some fundamental researches. But these days because of the limited resources that we have, here in Wellspring University, we are more interested in engaging in researches that have direct social benefits that people can really relate with. We prioritise researches that have direct impact, especially the ones that address social needs.

In the face of the current economic downturn confronting Nigeria, do you have innovative fee payment plans or packages that bring ease and relief to parents?
Yes, we are in the society together and that is why we allow instalmental payment of our fees. In fact, students are allowed to pay up to four instalments of their fees and even those of them that have peculiar challenges, if they approach us and they tell us, we can reach an agreement.

The university was set up to actually serve knowledge to these students and some of them may have some challenges. So, as long as we are aware of the challenges, we are always ready to go into discussion with them to agree on how the university can really assist, and a lot of parents have taken advantage of that and we make allowance for a workable plan because education should actually be for all that are interested. If you are interested in education there must be no barrier. We are trying to start what we call a work-study programme here that will allow students to get some stipends if they engage in some work in the university because we know that some of them are actually indigent. With the programme they earn something that can sustain them.

What is your assessment of the minimum academic upgrade, CCMAS, for the Nigerian university system put in place by the National Universities Commission, particularly in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), as well as Agriculture, Allied Health Sciences, Administration, and Management and what value can it deliver, and does Wellspring University conform?
Yes, we have adopted it here. There is nothing wrong with the CCMAS. To me, I see it as an elaboration or a breakdown of what used to be the BMAS. So, we have adopted it here. Some sensitisation was done on the new programme and we were part of the whole thing and we are running it already.

We gather that Wellspring University offers a degree programme in Nursing Science and that your graduates are highly rated and quickly find engagement in Europe, the US and the Middle East among other locations. Can you tell us about this?
We have a nursing programme. As a matter of fact we have a Faculty of Nursing in this university, which has the approval of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and we are also fully accredited by the National Universities Commission of Nigeria. We have in place very well-qualified staff, we have state of the art facilities, we have laboratories and what have you. That programme is rated as one of the best in this country. We had some visitors there, including the registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council who has confirmed that our laboratory is one of the best in terms of state of the art facilities. If you have cause to interact with some of our students you will see how excited they are to be in that programme.

Does Wellspring University engage its lecturers and undergrads in exchange programmes in the quest for excellence and does the university have collaborations with foreign universities for the dissemination of course content in specialised areas via the internet?
Yes. Unfortunately the economy is really not favourable to all of this again, exchange of staff, exchange of students within the universities and universities abroad is almost not practicable again. However, we are making efforts. We are engaging some people who teach some of our courses online. Some of them cannot leave where they are abroad but they are part of our teaching, they are part of our research projects here. So, that is what we are doing.

We are in collaboration; we are trying to actually forge collaboration with some universities abroad. We have not really finalised some of them but we are in the process. However, we are engaging many academics in the diaspora who are teaching for us in this university.

It is said that one of the attractions of Wellspring University is that its intake can expect to graduate on due date without disruptions arising from student and academic staff strikes and cultism etc. Is this true and how have you been able to accomplish this?
By the grace of God, it is true. We have run very smoothly with a stable academic calendar. Since the inception of the university there has not been any shutdown, any strike or any student crisis. I will attribute that to, one, the grace of God upon the university. We enjoy the grace of God here so massively and besides that, the environment by the grace of God is conducive, is welcoming for everybody and we have several programmes where we engage with both staff and students, and so the atmosphere is always convivial here and there is no reason for any shutdown or any strike. So, it’s a fact.

Do you meet the recommended teacher/student ratio standards  and what unique infrastructure do you have in place for fostering quality education?
Yes, if you are talking of students/lecturer ratio, I am sure that is one special advantage of almost all private universities. The highest here is just about one to eleven or so, that’s our lecturer/student ratio. So, we meet it very effectively and if you are talking of facilities that we have in place to foster teaching, we have all the facilities, we have the classrooms which are conducive and well equipped, we have the laboratories, we have state of the art equipment in our laboratories and they are very commodious. You need to visit our laboratories and see what we have there. We have a very up-to-date library with up-to-date books. We have an e-library also where you can access millions of digital resources. We have all of these facilities in place that are promoting and enhancing academic excellence.

Nigeria is known all over the world for having huge numbers of first-rate educated people but somehow this hardly reflects in the country’s state of the economy or leadership. Do you teach leadership and vocational skills that would enable your graduates raise societal standards and be able to gainfully employ themselves and others rather than be stuck on employment queues?
We are not unmindful of this. We make sure that all our students undergo a leadership training course. It is compulsory for every student who is graduating from Wellspring University. Leadership is key, leadership is so key and so we ensure that they are equipped with leadership skills. That’s why we expect them to always demonstrate that leadership anywhere they get to. We position our sports activities also in a manner to promote leadership and character. We do that also. We also emphasise entrepreneurship. We have a centre here that we call the Centre for Skills Acquisition. Students are encouraged to go there and acquire skills of their choice, skills that they are interested in so that at least they have what is called hand skills.

In those days people would say that that the skills you have in your hands will always stand you in good stead, sustain you and never let you down. Yes, the intellectual knowledge is good but also you need to be able to do something with your hands. So, we have handcrafts there. We have students here engaging in vocational skills such as welding, carpentry, agriculture and a whole range of things. It may interest you to know that students produced some of the furniture we have in use here in my office.

Is it within the ambit of the academia to conduct workshops, seminars and studies to address societal ills and advancement, how much of this is done and what is the position of your establishment in this regard?
It boils down to enlightenment of the mind. It’s our core duty. Academia is purposed to be a knowledge server, you are serving knowledge to larger society and we do that here too. Just today, our Director of the Office of Research, Linkages and International Collaborations listed a number of seminars that we propose to engage in and one of them is coming up later this month. It addresses how to engage in financial investments. An Associate Professor of Accounting is going to address that. I impressed it on the director that people around this community should be invited.

We are talking about how to invest your resources wisely. This is something that will be beneficial to this community and indeed any community. We are serving knowledge and we have also started a series of public lectures now. We are going to invite scholars, people of reckon and also our host community to come and learn and acquire knowledge free of cost. That’s our business and when you talk of community service, this is part of the community service that we are obligated to give. We should enlighten them; people should not be in the community and a lot is going on in the neighbour university and they are left in the dark. This is how we will impact all of these people engaged in antisocial activities; you know education is very important and it brings enlightenment, you are able to think better and see things more  reasonably and clearly with education. As many of these people that we can disseminate knowledge to, we are ready to do so. That’s the concept of our public lectures and seminars that we organise from time to time to educate the public on various aspects of knowledge.

It is said that quite a quantum of undergraduates admitted into tertiary institutions of learning struggle to cope with course work. What is the reason for this and how can it be addressed?
A lot of students, because of weak foundation, sometimes find it difficult to cope with their studies. What we do in Wellspring University is to ensure that at least we bring our students up to speed. When we identify some of them that may be weak, we give special attention to them. It’s a general problem; many students are weak in their O’ level courses but we try as much as possible to shore them up and help them to cope.

Evidence indicates that exam malpractices are rife in Nigeria’s educational system from primary through tertiary. What are your observations and how do you think this challenge can be addressed?
Exam malpractice is one malaise that, to me, if we do not come together to address it and stamp it out, might defeat everything about education. I’m afraid by the time somebody holds a certificate that he or she cannot defend; you can be a doctor, an engineer or what have you, and then you are not able to defend your certificate or even perform, we will have a dysfunctional society. I see it as something that must be stamped out completely. Here in Wellspring University, there is zero tolerance for it. I always tell my people that. And that is one thing we are known for.

Exam malpractice destroys the fabric of society so I am in support of all efforts to curb it. I listened to the Minister of Education who was saying that by next year NECO and WAEC exams would transit to CBT to curb exam malpractices. That is welcome; anything that we can do to ensure that at least students are assessed based on what they know and not what somebody has given them to write is welcome. It helps to sanitize the entire system. The unfortunate aspect of it is that a lot of parents are still supporting it. A lot of organisations are supporting it, including some schools.

What are the major challenges of funding and running a university in these times, how are you coping and where can or does help come from?
Of course, these are challenging times in every sector and everybody is feeling the harshness of the economy. One thing we set as our own guidelines here is that we try to just cut our coat according to the size of our cloth. That’s one thing that the leadership of this university is really doing. We try to work within the ambit of resources that we are able to generate because this is a private university. There is no fund that is coming in the general mode. We only enjoy what is called proprietor’s direct funding on projects. Everything else comes from within, from what we are able to raise. So, we just try to limit our spending to what we are able to generate and whatever we are spending, we try to ensure that we get value for it.

Yes, the economy has affected us especially in terms of expansion. For instance, we were in line to effect some physical infrastructure additions but which we have had to move forward. But we are surviving. We are starting to diversify into some businesses. We are in the process to start a packaged water production business and bread production. But that is not really the core source of funding. The truth is that as we expand, a lot of sources will be coming. For instance, endowments can come through our alumni.

We are cultivating our alumni now to encourage them to give back to the university, and then we are trying to reach out to people that are of goodwill that can assist the university. The funds that will come from some small businesses will still be useful but we don’t see that as really where the major funds will come from. All of the endowment fund that we are hoping for will, in some not distant time, begin to come onstream.

Let me seize this opportunity to call on the government; the government still needs to give more attention to education. Education is so critical. Education should not be seen as a sector; it should be seen as a foundation for progress in all other areas. I imagine myself being in government, I would want to ensure that everybody acquires foundation education for free.

All the countries that you see today that are thriving, talk of Israel and others, it is because the education system is solid. So, if the base which is the education system is solid, every other thing would thrive. So, I believe that there is still a lot to do in education. Invest in infrastructure, invest in training of teachers, invest in facilities for schools, invest even in the welfare of the staff. When I visit universities and even secondary schools in the US, I’m impressed. You see massive infrastructure that are well equipped. You can be sure that those that will graduate from such places will not just be run of the mill. I really want to call on government. This is not rhetoric.

Government needs to invest more in education. Every citizen of this country ought to be educated at least up to JS3 with qualitative education and then you can just build on that. That is my candid position. Also, private universities are here supplementing the efforts of government; they should also be supported by the government. It’s done abroad, go to Canada, go to other places, private universities enjoy federal government funding one way or the other.

Imagine if there were no private universities in Nigeria. JAMB is saying that we have about 600,000 spaces in universities in Nigeria now. Just imagine if the private universities were not available, there would have been an explosion. Even with that a lot of our students are still going to Ghana and other destinations in pursuit of further education. So, the private universities are complementing, they are unlocking resources. They should be complemented with whatever government can do.