Dangote employs 15 foreign profs for Kano University

The recruitment of foreign lecturers is said to be considered in upping the world ranking of higher institutions. Higher education plays an important role in the acquisition of knowledge, the economic and democratic development of society.

It is in that regard that billionaire businessman and Chancellor of Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, concluded arrangements to hire 15 foreign professors to enrich the university’s academic manpower.

Teams from the university were dispatched to a number of foreign higher institutions to scout for professors that demonstrate excellence in teaching in their respective courses.

This was disclosed by KUST Vice Chancellor, Professor Shehu Alhaji Musa, at a media briefing, shortly after the matriculation ceremony of students for the 2017/2018 session.

He further disclosed that the university would establish three new faculties of Pharmaceutical Science, Veterinary Science and Medicine in its effort to realize the vision of its founding fathers of becoming an international centre of excellence.

Prof. Musa said two teams were constituted to visit Pakistan and Egypt, to meet with some professors and have since returned with encouraging reports from the trips, which he described as “remarkably successful”.

“The trips were actually to accomplish the aspiration of the chancellor of the university, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who granted the opportunity of recruiting 15 foreign professors and he would shoulder the responsibility of their salaries and other entitlements,” he said.

The VC added that Dangote also promised to build 15 residential accommodations for the professors, who are expected to start work on January 1, 2019.

He also stated that Dangote had made a donation of N100 million cash to the university and ordered the drilling of an industrial borehole to boost water supply in the institution. This is in addition to the directive given by the chancellor for linking the university with Integrated Power Project which he would also sponsor.

Prof Musa explained that the team that went to Pakistan interviewed a number of professors who are willing to join the KUST while that of Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with five Egyptian universities.

The Egyptian universities visited were Al-Azhar University, where a MoU was signed on the field of agriculture including food science and technology, soil science, agricultural extension, forestry, wildlife and fisheries.

At Nahda University, located in Upper Egypt, the team signed an agreement on consultancy. “They are currently working on a proposal for solar energy supply in the country and it is a national programme. KUST Consult and Investment Limited will be the consultancy arm of Nahda University in Nigeria. I believe this is quite an amazing progress,” he stated.

Also, the KUST team and officials of Ain Shams University signed an agreement on Mechatronics Engineering, Agric Engineering, Irrigation Engineering, Automotive Engineering Mechanical Engineering.

At Bani Suwaib University, the team also signed a MoU in the sciences, the VC said, adding that most of the professors that would handle the proposed new and science courses would come from that university.

Lastly, the team visited Aswan University where they signed agreement in Earth and Environmental Sciences.

According to the VC, the deal was a big milestone and a turning point for both staff and students of the university.

He expressed gratitude to the chancellor, the visitor to the university and all stakeholders that contributed to the success of the university. “A core component in all the MoUs was staff and student exchange which means both our staff and students will benefit greatly from the agreements,” he noted.

“For all the officials that are going on sabbatical leave, I would encourage them to think towards that destination. While for our students, we have agreed to enter what you could call 3+1 or 3+2 arrangement in which a student will spend three years here and move over to a university in Egypt and spend one or two years and at the end they would have a joint degree awarded by the two universities,” he explained

Meanwhile, the KUST Wudil has matriculated its new students. For both UTME and Direct Entry, the VC said a total of 4,618 students were admitted in the 2017/2018 session.

The VC asked the matriculants to be law abiding and good representatives of their families.

He congratulated the new students for securing admission into what he called the premier university of science and technology in northern Nigeria.