UNIVERSITIES (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) ACT 2003
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LAWS OF THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
THE UNIVERSITIES (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) ACT 2003
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
This Act provides for the amendment of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No 11 1993 and makes new provisions, among other things, for the autonomy, management and re-organization of the Universities in Nigeria.
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
- Amendment of No 11 of 1993
- Amendment of section 2
- Insertion of new sections 2A, 2AA and 2AAA
- Amendment of section 3
- Insertion of subsections (9) – (14)
- Amendment of section 4
- Insertion of sections 7A, 7AA and 7AAA
- Citation.
THE UNIVERSITIES (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) ACT 2003
An Act to amend the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No. 11 of 1993 and provide for the autonomy of Universities; and other related matters.
[ 1993] [Commencement]
ENACTED by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria-
- The Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 (in this Act referred to as “the Principal Act”) as amended is further amended as set out in this Act.
- Substitute section 2 of the Principal Act for a new section
“2. (1) There shall be a council for each of the Universities consisting of-
(a) the Pro-Chancellor;
(b) the Vice-Chancellor;
(c) the Deputy Vice-Chancellors;
(d) one person from the. Federal Ministry responsible for Education;
(e) four persons representing a variety of interest and broadly representative of the whole Federation to be appointed by the National Council of Ministers;
(f) four persons appointed by the Senate from among its members;
(g) two persons appointed by the Congregation from among its members; and
(h) one person appointed by Convocation from among its members.
“(2) “Persons to be appointed to the Council shall be of proven integrity, knowledgeable and familiar with the affairs and tradition of the University”
- Insert immediately after section 2 of the Principal Act sections-
“2A. The Council so constituted shall have a tenure of four years from the date of its inauguration provided that where a Council is found to be incompetent and corrupt it shall be dissolved by the Visitor and a new Council shall be immediately constituted for the effective functioning of the University.
“2AA. The powers of the Council shall be exercised, as in the Law the Council and Statutes of each University and to that extent establishment circulars that are inconsistent with the Laws and Statutes of the University shall not apply to the Universities.
2AAA. (1) The Governing Council of a university shall be free in the discharge of its functions and exercise of its responsibilities for the good management, growth and development of the university.
“(2) The Council of a university in the discharge of its functions shall ensure that disbursement of funds of the University complies with the approved budgetary, ratio for-
“(a) personnel cost:
“(b) overhead cost;
“(c) research and development;
“(d) library developments; and
“(e) the balance in expenditure between academic vis-à-vis non academic activities”.
- Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended as follows-
(a) in sub-section (1) by substituting for the words-
“who shall be appointed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces”, appearing in lines 2 and 3, the following words- “who shall be appointed by the Governing Council”
(b) in subsection (4) by substituting for the words-
“The Council shall select one candidate from among the three candidates recommended to it under subsection (3) of this section and forward his name to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,”
the following words-
“The Council shall select and appoint as the Vice-Chancellor one candidate from among the three candidates recommended to it under subsection (3) of this section and thereafter inform the Visitor,’’
(c) in subsection (8) by substituting for the words-
“The Vice-Chancellor may be removed from office by the Visitor after due consultation with the Council and the Senate acting through the Minister of Education,”
with the following words-
“The Vice-Chancellor may be removed from office by the Governing Council on grounds of gross misconduct or inability to discharge the functions of his office as a result of infirmity of the body or mind, at the initiative of the Council, Senate or the Congregation after due process”.
- Insert the following subsections immediately after the existing section 3 (8) of the Principal Act-
“(9) When the proposal for the removal of the Vice-Chancellor is made, the Council shall constitute a joint committee of Council and Senate consisting of-
(i) three members of the Council one of whom shall be the Chairman of the committee, and
(ii) two members of’ the Senate,
provided that where the ground for removal is infirmity of the body or mind, the Council shall seek appropriate medical opinion.
“(10) The Committee shall conduct investigation into the allegations made against the Vice-Chancellor and shall report its findings to the Council.
“(11) The Council may where the allegations are proved remove the Vice-Chancellor or apply any other disciplinary action it may deem fit and notify the Visitor accordingly provided that a Vice- Chancellor who is removed shall have right of appeal to the Visitor.
“(12) There shall be no sole administration in any Nigerian University.
“(13) In any case of a vacancy in the office of the Vice- Chancellor, the Council shall appoint an acting Vice- Chancellor on recommendation of the Senate.
“(14) An acting Vice-Chancellor in all circumstances shall not be in office for more than 6 months”.
- Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsections –
“(6) A Deputy Vice-Chancellor may be removed from office for good cause by the Council acting on the recommendations of the Vice-Chancellor and Senate;
“(7) “Good cause” for the purpose of this section means gross misconduct or inability to discharge the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind”.
- Insert immediately after section 6 (5) (c) of the Principal Act, the following sections-
Composition of a University Senate
“7A (1) There shall be a senate for each of the and powers Universities consisting of-
(a) the Vice-Chancellor;
(b) the Deputy Vice-Chancellor;
(c) all professors of the University;
(d) all deans, provosts and directors of academic units of the University,
(e) all heads of academic departments, units and research institutes of the University;
(f) the University Librarian; and
(g) academic members of the Congregation who are not professors as specified in the Laws of each University.
“(2) The Senate shall have powers in all academic matters including the organization and control of –
(a) teaching and research;
(b) admission of students;
(c) award of degrees including Honoris Causa, Certificates and Diplomas;
(d) promotion of research; and
(f) the exercise of other functions in accordance with the Laws and Statutes of its University.
Visitor and visitation
“7 AA (1) There shall be a visitor for each of the Universities.
(2) The Visitor shall cause a visitation to each University when necessary at least every five years.
(3) The Visitor shall make the report of such visitations and white paper thereon available to the Council which shall implement same.
Students Participation
“7AAA. Students shall –
(a) be represented in the University’s Students Welfare Board and other committees that deal with the affairs of students;
(b) participate in various aspects of curriculum development;
(c) participate in tile process of assessing academics staff in respect of teaching; and
(d) be encouraged to be more self-assured as part of the national development process’’.
Citation.
- This Act may be cited as the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2003.
