The Vice-Chancellor of Owolabi University, Osogbo, Osun State, Professor Samuel Adedokun, has called on the Federal Government to extend the benefits of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to private universities to expand access to higher education and research funding in Nigeria.
The call coincided with the announcement that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved fifteen new academic programmes for the institution.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Professor Adedokun emphasized that private universities play a vital role in developing the country’s education sector and should not be excluded from government support, particularly regarding research grants and student loan facilities.
He argued that public universities currently lack the capacity to accommodate all qualified candidates seeking admission, noting that students who cannot secure placements in federal and state universities deserve equal access to financial assistance in private institutions.
“If the government supports researchers in public institutions, what prevents it from supporting researchers in private institutions?” he queried. “Look at the reports on university rankings in Nigeria. Private universities are competing effectively with public universities. The records are available in the public domain.
“If private universities are competing favourably with public institutions, why can the Federal Government not extend research grants to them? Doing so would improve the entire education system. That is my position. I am advocating that the government should consider extending NELFUND facilities to private institutions,” Adedokun said.
Also, Professor Adedokun noted that the newly approved programmes were carefully selected to equip students with critical skills in professional, scientific, technological, business, and social disciplines.
The approved courses span three faculties, with faculty of Allied Health Sciences having Bachelor of Nursing Science (B.NSc.) in Nursing Science, Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) in Physiotherapy, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Public Health, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nutrition and Dietetics, and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (B.MLS.) in Medical Laboratory Science.
According to him, the faculty of Management and Social Sciences has Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Accounting, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Criminology and Security Studies, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics.
The faculty of Science and Computing has Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Microbiology, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Cyber Security, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information Technology, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Software Engineering, and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Science Laboratory Technology.