In a bid to make Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, self-sustaining, government will review tuition fees being paid in the institution, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi, has announced.
The governor made the announcement on Saturday in Ibadan, while featuring on a programme tagged “Saturday Special’ aired on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that LAUTECH is co-owned by both Oyo and Osun state governments.
The institution had in recent times been enmeshed in crisis over the default of the owners to pay subvention and staff salaries.
Ajimobi said his administration had since assumption of office in 2011, paid N22 billion to the institution.
He described the amount being paid as tuition fees in LAUTECH as `abysmal,’ adding that it would be reviewed for the institution to be self-sustaining.
“The default in the payment of subvention and salaries was as a result of economic downturn. When we came on board, we reduced the tuition fees to N65, 000.
“There are secondary schools that charges from N150,000 to N200,000, while some universities charge from N500,000 to two million naira.
“Till date, we have subsidised LAUTECH heavily and we are still giving them.
“Imagine, the institution has 99 accounts and some could not be traced,’’ he said.
The governor said that government had taken steps to resolve the crisis in the university, among which was the auditing of its account to determine its viability to be self-sustaining like other institutions.
He said that staff of the institution had initially refused the auditing firm access but had promised to allow them recently.
Ajimobi said that government had constituted the institution’s governing council which was expected to submit its report after the current holiday.
He promised that the crisis in the university would soon be over and the institution would be given take-off grant for three months.
Commenting on Oyo State Technical University, Ajimobi said that the institution, which would take-off in October, was a specialized institution, adding it was not a university for all.
He said that his administration had evolved several initiatives to reform education in the state, particularly public schools.
He added that the efforts had started to yield the desired fruits.