A SENIOR lawyer Afe Babalola has said Nigerian universities should be given more funds for research purposes and not for building guest houses.
Babalola, the founder of the Afe Babalola University, spoke at the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), 12th Founder’s Anniversary and 9th convocation ceremony, on Saturday.
“Instead of giving well-established universities monies to build guest houses, they should be given funds for research and innovation,” he said.
Babalola also argued that universities that have existed for more than 30 years should not be given money by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for infrastructure development.
He suggested that such funds were allegedly expended on frivolities.
The keynote speaker at the event, Executive Secretary of TETFUND Suleiman Bogoro said Nigerian universities deserve more funds for research.
According to him TETFUND is working to better Nigerian universities.
Bogoro further disclosed that TETFUND had signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with some foreign universities to boost the global ranking of Nigerian universities.
“This historic MoU was signed at the peak of the first wave of COVID-19. The MoU was significant because both the World Education Service (WES) and Test of English Language requirements for TETFUND’s scholars studying at MSU under this agreement were waived,” he said.
TETFUND is a body set up by the Nigerian government to arrest the rot and deterioration in the educational infrastructure occasioned by a long period of neglect and very poor resource allocation.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance