UNIBEN VC seeks adequate funding as varsity commissions workstation

Vice Chancellor, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof. Lilian Salami, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to improve on the funding of tertiary institutions in the country to meet the demands of teaching, research and development.

Salami made the call in Benin City during the Faculty of Life Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Lecture Series with theme: “Bridging the gap between the Academia and the Industry: An Alumnus Perspective. “

While soliciting adequate funding for tertiary institutions in the country, Salami said: “As a university, we are striving to ensure we remain the best in spite of myriad of challenges, especially the progressively dwindling funding from government.

“It is no longer news that the government alone is unable to fund education. This is even more so at the tertiary level. While we continue to seek for more and more help from philanthropists and corporate organisations, we are nevertheless not unaware of the fact that our alumni base of over 350,000, who are our worthy ambassadors is our greatest resources.”

Delivering the lecture to commemorate the event, Group Managing Director/CEO, Blue Seal Energy Group, USA, Doyle Edeni, urged the academia and industry to seek ways to improve on Research and Development (R&D).

He said Research and Development (R&D) is the catalyst for nation’s growth and development globally just as science is the foundation for engineering.

Emeritus Professor T.O.K. Audu of the Faculty of Engineering (UNIBEN) commended the guest lecturer for exploring the relationship between academia and industry, saying, “What he has demonstrated is a big plus to all of us. I commend and congratulate him.”