President Muhammadu Buhari has said that despite the decline in education standards in the country, the FG must ensure that deserving youths who are desirous of education must receive quality education.
The President, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie at the University of Port Harcourt’s 30th convocation and 40th anniversary said “The Federal Government is aware of the setback to research in our universities due to brain drain, loss of research development assistance and weakened links with overseas development partners in the last three decades.
“In recent times, the efforts of the private sector and government in the expansion of access to university education through the establishment of universities have been unprecedented.
“We must continue to ensure that our deserving youths, who are desirous of university education, are able to gain admission into universities and receive quality education.
“Students are at the centre of university life and must therefore be well catered for. Universities must strive to engage the private sector in adequately regulated Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model of provision of students’ accommodation to ensure that students are not exploited in any way.
“Universities must therefore endeavour to complete their perimeter fencing, where needed and adhere to legal processes concerning land titles and other issues.”
Meanwhile National President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Prof. Chibuzo Asomugha, and Chairman, ASUP, Federal Polytechnic Offa, Dr Shola Ojeniyi, has called on the President to review the current state of University Education in Nigeria.
Asomugha and Ojeniyi spoke at the 81st National Executive Council meeting of ASUP in Offa, Kwara State.
Asomugha said, “There is no understanding of what we really want polytechnic education to be. We have deviated from the original vision and there is no focus. There is hardly any technical intent in the delivery of polytechnic education and we must return to the basis.
“This dovetails into what happens in the wider economy, in the industries and private sector. There is no contact between the industries and the schools. We are just producing polytechnic graduates without being able to know where they will fit in.”
Ojeniyi also appealed to the Federal Government to focus on polytechnic education in Nigeria.