Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na-Allah, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, claims the institution has cracked down on instructors who sexually harass students, with two professors sacked for the offense.
Na'Allah said on Monday in New York that the institution has implemented and publicized a policy on sex abuse on campus.
"Female students needed to be protected," said Na-Allah, who was on a two-day visit to the United States to meet with the University of Abuja Alumni Association, USA branch, to collect support for the institution.
According to him, the university is dedicated to upholding high moral standards and would not accept any form of misbehavior committed by its employees towards students.
We've fired two academics since becoming vice chancellor. It demonstrates how serious we are about ending sexual harassment. We are working with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure that we are not alone in addressing this issue but that we have strong cooperation.
We cannot allow our pupils' lives to be damaged because most abuses destroy the lives of their victims.
It was distressing to see some instructors, who are supposed to be protecting female students, become one of their difficulties, the vice-chancellor stated.
This is a problem that affects many universities in Nigeria, not only the University of Abuja.
But UniAbuja is pursuing it with zeal because we know it is one of the issues that must be addressed in order to make our university one of the greatest in Nigeria.
"As I speak, multiple investigations are underway by a committee formed to handle the situation," the vice chancellor told NAN
The VC stated that the university was working around the clock to ensure that the institution became the number one in Nigeria, adding that the best method is to improve the academics of the students.
"We are attempting to provide all of the facilities that students require, such as smart classrooms, on-campus internet, and other locations."
Na-Allah went on to say that the university's Centre for Distance Learning (CDL) was among the best in Nigeria, and that Nigerians in the diaspora could "virtually take courses from the center anywhere in the world."
Students at the CDL range from first-degree to PhD level and come from all over the world. Things are much easier now; you can even defend on zoom. We have developed a virtual classroom system and are collaborating with the National University Commission (NUC) to ensure that its regulations are changed to support the virtual system.
We are partnering with the University of Arizona in the United States since it has a vast virtual system, and we are exploring a partnership for online programs with the university, he explained.
The University of Abuja is a tertiary institution in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, that was founded in January 1988 as a dual-mode university with the authority to run traditional and distance learning programs.