Private universities are the future' By Ngozi Sams

The average private university in Nigeria is higher in all standards than any of the old state-owned universities in the country, the executive secretary of the Nigeria University Commission (NUC), Julius Okojie, has said.

Mr. Okojie, who spoke at a brief ceremony held at the NUC headquarters in Abuja towards issuing an approval letter to the Ekiti State government to establish the newly created University of Science and Technology, Ifaki-Ekiti, said the woes of state-owned universities in the country are hinged on inconsistencies in policies of state governments.

He said political wrangling in states not only affect the universities' access to funding but also their general management.

It's all politics

"The Alake of Egba land still quarrelled till he died that University of Ibadan should have been sited in Abeokuta," he said. "One thing I observed is that owners of various state universities have failed to improve access. If my dear governor comes from Ifaki and he establishes a university, the first thing he will do is to go and establish it in Ifaki because that is his constituency.

"The state university in Bokos, Plateau State was crippled three years ago because a new administration was not favourably disposed to it."

Mr. Okojie said making university education accessible to all should be the priority, rather than location. He suggested that these issues should be addressed by state assemblies, who should make it mandatory for incoming governors to fund and uphold the guiding policies laid down by previous administrations in terms of running state universities.

"We need to sit down in our Houses of Assembly and see what to do to ensure that these institutions survive," he said.

The political undercurrents, he said, have adversely affected state universities and have created the environment for private universities to thrive.

"Today, we have 41 private universities," he said. "Some will say there are too many private universities; but I say no to that because the future of universities in this country is in private universities. In terms of quality, the universities are rated in this order: federal universities, private universities and state universities.

Not good for the system

"Even the new private universities are better than some state universities that are established long time ago because of this political wrangling. A new person comes in and scuttles what another person had done. It is not good for the system. Stability is what it is. Even private universities that are not properly funded, but because of stable environment, they grow. Federal universities are always demonstrating for autonomy and more funds."

He therefore called for alternative strategies for funding the universities, saying government cannot do it alone.

He then challenged the Ekiti State government to set high standards with the newly created university of science and technology.

The governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, said the institution will open a new vista not just for tertiary education for the people but for the future of the state.

"We are opening the doors for a third university," he said, with an air of excitement, promising to deploy satellite technology to run a university which is expected to be ICT driven.

The Ekiti State commissioner for education, Rufus Ajayi, also disclosed that the university will take off next year, as the project is already captured in the state's 2010 budget.