On Friday, the National Universities Commission (NUC) granted temporary licences to 37 new private universities that had recently been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under President Muhammadu Buhari. With the recent additions, there are now 147 private universities in Nigeria, making the country’s total number of universities 264.
Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary of NUC, thanked the owners of the new private universities for successfully completing the standards for the formation of private universities in Nigeria in his opening remarks at the certificate presentation event on Friday in Abuja.
He gave them the utmost assurance of the Commission’s support and exhorted them to openly seek out its guidance and counsel in order to avoid making mistakes that might result in sanctions from the Commission. the owners of the brand-new private institutions for achieving the criteria for the creation of private universities in Nigeria.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, in his remarks, stressed the importance of private individuals’ participation in providing university education system in Nigeria.
He said that despite the appreciable rise in number of private universities in Nigeria, there are need for more private individuals’ investment in university education by establishing universities to augment the efforts of public universities and existing institutions
“Despite these number of universities, there is room for more. This is because our population is on significant increase, hence the increasing desire for university education, particularly among the youths,”
he said Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari, in his remarks, challenged the proprietors of the new universities to champion the cause of education revolution in Nigeria.
Executive Secretary, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in his goodwill message advised the new institutions to start well and strong, define their uniqueness and character, and sustain it so they can be known and identified among their contemporaries with a trait.
Former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isah Pantami, reminded the institutions that education is changing or has changed across the world, hence the need for Universities in Nigeria to rise to the occasion of providing lifelong education and skills for their students.
He said: “universities in Nigeria should engage in critical thinking, and come up with contents that would produce potential employers instead of potential employees.”
