It has been 7 months or so at the African Center of Excellence, Mycotoxins and Food Safety, Federal University of Technology, Minna, but all I can say is ‘not bad’ and ‘not good enough’.
As a full scholarship student at the center, I expected a much better and well organized center, though it has lot of things to set in place as it has just erected its building. They are doing well within their means, however, a lot has to be done in order to strategize the program to becoming a world standard scholarship center.
Moreso, the welfare of the students has to be taken seriously inorder to attract and maintain excellent students in the center, more especially the international students. Nonetheless, the welfare of Nigerian students need not to be disregarded as well, as prioritizing a party will not augur well with the mindset and productivity of the students. ‘All’ students should be treated with ‘equity’ and fairness, as all students; especially those on full scholarship are under the same award.
Another key thing to buttress on regarding students at the center is about the somewhat-lackadaisical attitude of the center to the issue of students’ research. Some students have spent almost 3 years with no sight of concluding their research, this is very worrisome. An 18 months program should not exceed 18 months for a student on a world standard scholarship like the ACE – a world bank sponsored program. Likewise course work should be timely discharged accordingly. Breakdown of lectures should be made available and be maintained accordingly in order not to have a lengthy semester that will eventually prolong a students timely graduation.
Lastly, I will recommend the center to work very well on developing a ‘working system’ in the center, restructure the studentship into a more research and training program for students, engage all staff and students across board, and then lastly work on the ‘communication gaps between the center and students (communicate adequately and properly to students).
Thank you.
Kind regards.