At a virtual symposium held in honour of Professor Jimoh Olaiya Amzat of the department of Sociology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, on his promotion to the rank of professor of Medical Sociology and Social problem. Experts advanced the need for lecturers across the country to democratise the education system in order to cater for a robust mentorship required by their students.
This was made known as part of efforts to bridge the widening relationship between lecturers and students across Universities in Nigeria.
The symposium themed “Academic Mentorship in African Universities: which way?” was attended by experts in the field of sociology and students of the former head of the sociology department of the institution.
They include Dr Akin Iwilade, a lecturer of African studies at the University of Edinburgh, Canada, as the guest lecturer and Professor Jessica Mudry, Ryerson University, Canada, as the Special guest.
Others are Dr Victor Kolo, University of Ibadan; Dr Kazeem Aremu, Department of Mathematics, UDUS, and Dr Malwina Bakalarska, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Prof. Jessica Mudry said that lecturers need to evolve a new approach to teaching that would ensure that students are not left in the cold. Drawing an analogy from her teaching experience, she stated that: “to be a good mentor, a lecturer must first throw out their ego as that’s the first major step in approaching a good mentorship. What I always make sure I do to my students is leave them with the curiosity of the things around them which they do not know, this will make them ask more for why, how and other reasons they want to know. This, in the end, creates a strong relationship between us.”
This, she furthered, could be achieved through effective communication between lecturers and their students, as poor communication would not ignite any desired results.
Meanwhile. Dr Akin Iwilade in his keynote speech proffer that the academic environment can be made conducive for students in terms of mentorship with an approach he termed ‘Self-interest based format.’ This, according to him, is when the yardstick for the promotion of lecturers considers the growth of students under their supervision.
“Our African universities simply should not only create good people as lecturers but also create a system that will turn bad lecturers into good people so that all lecturers could possibly make good mentors. This system could possibly be created, for instance, if promotions at all academic levels are dependent on how students under a lecturer’s care grow and develop. This is, thus, a self-interest based format which would easily turn our bad teachers into significant mentors.”
A panel discussion on “Academic Mentorship in African Universities: Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)’ was held to dissect the state of mentorship in African universities.
Moderated by Dr Akinmayowa Lawal of the department of sociology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, the panel featured six panellists: Kafayat Aminu and Dr Dauda Busari from the University of Ibadan; Dr George Evans, Kenyatta University, Kenya; Dr Christopher Appiah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; Dr Motilola Adejare, University of Botswana and Dr Aisha Adaranijo from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Speaking on “mentorship in African Universities, is it the institution that needs to change or the individual?” Kafayat Aminu, University of Ibadan, argued that for an effective mentorship programme to be established in African Universities, there is a need for a change in the behaviour of individuals. According to her, individuals make the university.
“The individual is the one that needs to change. it’s the individuals who make up a university. This is due to the fact that during my postgraduate days in school, a mentorship program was created by my department in which a mentor is assigned to specific sets of students to guide them through their academics.
She continued: But to my surprise, we still had mentors then who were not even really interested in the whole thing, thereby didn’t make the context of the thing to be effective as far as the students assigned to them are concerned. So, it’s the individual first. After we have individuals who are willing to be mentors, only then can we see results.”
Dr Aisha Adaranijo, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, while speaking draws a sublime difference between academic mentorship and supervision to drive home her position on academic mentorship in African universities.
“I’ll like to let everyone here realize that mentoring is quite different from student supervision. While a mentor gives one guidance in helping one progresses in one’s life’s program or career, a supervisor only awards you marks or credit par your excellence as far as an assignment is concerned. So, on this note, postgraduates too should understand that their supervisors are not necessarily their mentors.”
“Mentorship is beyond supervision as it’s a kind of skill on its own, that’s why it’s learned. So, students should be able to pick their mentors themselves other than their supervisors, they should know how to approach whoever they like and tell them that; Sir/Ma, I would like you to be my mentor,” she pointed.