Six new private varsities get licences

The Federal Government has presented provisional licences to the six newly-approved private universities with caution to dispense the highest standard of quality education to Nigerians.

The newly-licensed six universities, granted operating licences to admit students into its undergraduate programmes, bring the total of private universities in Nigeria to 74.

They are Atiba University, Oyo, Oyo State; Admiralty University, Ibusa, Delta State; Spirtian University, Nneochi Abia State; Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Oyo State; PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Eko University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ijanikin, Lagos State.

The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, while presenting the certificates yesterday in Abuja, stated that the universities had satisfied the 14 processes leading to the offers.

He noted that the processes spanned between the period of one and 15 years.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Sunday Echono, said the presentation of the provisional licence to the six private universities is an indication that the Federal Government is committed to addressing the problem of access in the tertiary education sector.

He said the Federal Government would not fail to sanction any university, which engages in any unwholesome practice.

In another development, President, African Council for Distance Education (ACDE), Prof. Abdelraouf Abbas, has tasked the management of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to collaborate with other sister universities of the continent to achieve rapid growth.

He also urged management of the institution to render the university’s vast experience in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to similar institutions on the continent for the development of the education.

The ACDE president stated this during his visit to the headquarters of NOUN in Abuja yesterday where he underscored the role and critical importance of the university to the council and other ODL institutions in Africa.

Abbas, who is also the Vice Chancellor, Open University, Sudan, was accompanied by Secretary, Academic Affairs of Open University of Sudan, Prof. Mohammed Abo Imam.

He said his visit to the headquarters of the institution was the first in his capacity as the council’s president.

The ACDE president also requested NOUN to allow its member of staff, Prof. Rotimi Ogidan, who is the Executive Secretary of ACDE based at the headquarters of the council in Kenya, to see off his tenure in 2019 which, he said, is another pointer to NOUN’s critical importance to the council and ODL in Africa.

However, the NOUN VC, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, assured the visiting don of full support towards the sustenance of the council’s activity.

Adamu, who is also the first Vice-President of the council, acknowledged that heading the continental body like the ACDE was tasking, but urged the president to focus more on tackling the challenges facing the council and ODL institutions in Africa.