Muhammed Abubakar, the Pro-Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University Ilorin, has called on the Federal Government to review the legal instruments that currently excludes private universities from benefiting from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
Abubakar made the call on Saturday at the 8th convocation ceremony of the university in Ilorin.
He said the request became imperative owing to the complementary roles played by private universities in providing higher education to Nigerians.
The pro-chancellor said that private universities contribute to the provision of manpower needs of the country just as public universities, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
” Private universities contribute to the revenue of whatever area they are domiciled through payment of taxes.
” It is becoming increasingly difficult for private individuals to continue to fund the establishment of universities or sustain them once they are established,” he said.
He, however, appealed to private universities to make their researches marketable to enable them to generate income.
” This should be particularly taken seriously by private universities that do not enjoy any form of grant from the government,’’ he added.
He said in spite of the immense contributions they were making to the educational, economic and social development of the nation, private universities were still excluded from benefiting from the fund.
According to him, such fund will help the universities prepare students for global competitiveness.
He also called for the radical review of school curriculum to make them institutions capable of addressing educational, economic, social and spiritual problems.
He said Al-Hikmah University was training students who would not only be self-employed but also providers of employment.
The pro-chancellor decried the current youth restiveness in the country and called on the government to take steps toward tackling it.
. Abubakar made the call on Saturday at the 8th convocation){kind=link}