Percy Onyeka
According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), preparations are being finalized to announce the opening of two new universities in the nation, bringing the overall number of educational establishments to 272.
Chris Maiyaki, the interim executive secretary of the commission, made this statement on Thursday while speaking with reporters in Abuja.
According to Maiyaki, the NUC will keep approving new colleges in order to close the nation’s admissions gap.
He pointed out that although two million applicants apply to institutions annually, there are only between 500,000 and 700,000 spots available for admission.
Maiyaki’s stance comes amidst the fight of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other stakeholders in the tertiary education sub-sector against the proliferation of institutions in the country by the government at the Federal and State levels.
Maiyaki said every year, almost two million candidates seek admission into the universities but only between 500,000 and 700,000 students get admitted.
He said, “You need to see the anguish and the frustration on the faces of families who are desperate to make sure that their children attend university education every admission session. It is very tough and challenging for university leaders and NUC and so we have no choice but to continue to approve the universities.
“The approval for two more varsities to bring the number of universities in the country to 272 has been concluded and will be announced next week.”
He insisted that in order to meet its needs and provide high-quality education, Nigeria will keep expanding access to universities by authorizing new institutions.
He stated that efforts were being made to reposition the university system through transnational education by allowing foreign universities to come in and operate in the nation, even though he pointed out that nations with populations smaller than Nigeria, such as Brazil, Indonesia, and others, have more than 1,000 universities.
According to the Executive Secretary, applications for the creation of distant learning centers that will be overseen to deliver high-quality instruction are now being processed by the commission.
But the head of the NUC emphasized that this does not imply that the days of setting up distant learning centers are coming back.
In response to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s announcement encouraging owners of private colleges and other higher education establishments in Nigeria to collect tuition in dollars, he declared that no postsecondary institution is permitted to do so.
He stated that after looking into the claim, the commission looked into it and found that the aforementioned private university was not collecting payments in dollars.
“We have looked into the dollarization of tuition at the aforementioned university, and it does not charge fees in dollars,” the statement reads.
International students are solely charged in US dollars. Therefore, I ask that the media work with us to inform the public that no university in Nigeria is permitted to charge fees in dollars, he said”
Techrectory with Agency Report
