THE National Universities Commission (NUC) has offered provisional licence to 37 private universities.
This brings the number of private universities in the country to 148 and the nation’s total universities to 264, according to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, who addressed education stakeholders at the licencing event that took place at the NUC’s headquarters, in Abuja, on Friday, June 9.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration approved the university two weeks before leaving office in May.
Adejo, in his address, said the nation needed more universities to accommodate its teeming population seeking admission.
According to him, the arguments that the country should nurture the institutions already on the ground and cease to create more universities were untenable.
“Government is also well aware that countries that are consistently well-ranked in Human Development indices have, in recognition of the important role of universities in human capital development, maintaining a respectable number of universities relative to their population.
“In relation to Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, the current 264 universities are quite low when compared to those of other economies such as Korea, Indonesian among others,” Adejo said.
He said the government would monitor the new institutions for three years and affiliate them with older universities for effective operation and monitoring.
He explained, “This is part of NUC’s initiative for early-warning signals to detect compromises in quality for the application of corrective and remedial measures to redress such situations.
“Substantive licences will be issued to well-managed institutions after the three years of probation following their satisfactory performance and growth, within guidelines stipulated by the Commission.”
The Executive Secretary of NUC, Abubakar Rasheed, said the universities’ licencing went through scrutiny, adding that the Commission ensured their proposed academic programmes would help the nation address some of its challenges.
Rasheed said Nigerian universities have grown in the last 30 years from less than 40 in 1996 to 264 in 2023.
He cautioned the schools’ managements to ensure they abide by the code of practice and all laws guiding the operations of universities in the country.
The universities are Huda University, Gusau, Zamafara State; Franco British International University, Kaduna State; Canadian University of Nigeria, Abuja; Miva Open University, Abuja FCT; and the Gerar University of Medical Science Imope Ijebu, Ogun State; Rayhaan University, Kebbi; Muhammad Kamalud University Kwara; Sam Maris University, Ondo; Aletheia University, Ago-Iwpye Ogun State; and Lux Mundi University Umuahia, Abia State.
Also on the list are West Midlands Open University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Amaj University, Kwali, Abuja, Prime University, Kuje, FCT Abuja, El-Amin University, Minna, Niger State, College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna State, Jewel University, Gombe state, Nigerian University of Technology and Management, Apapa, Lagos State, Al-Muhibbah Open University, Abuja and Al-Bayan University, Ankpa, Kogi State; Maduka University, Ekwegbe, Enugu State; PeaceLand University, Enugu State; Amadeus University, Amizi, Abia State; Vision University, Ikogbo, Ogun State; and Azman University, Kano State.
Others are University on the Niger, Umunya, Anambra State, Elrazi Medical University Yargaya University, Kano State, Venite University, Iloro-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Shanahan University Onitsha, Anambra State, The Duke Medical University, Calabar, Cross River State, Mercy Medical University, Iwo, Ogun State, Cosmopolitan University Abuja and Iconic Open University, Sokoto State; British Canadian University, Obufu Cross River State; Hensard University, Toru-Orua, Sagbama, Bayelsa State; Phoenix University, Agwada, Nasarawa State; Wigwe University, Isiokpo Rivers State; and Hillside University of Science and Technology, Okemisi, Ekiti State.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org