Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has called on the Federal Government to review its policy on university education with a view to subsidising tuition fees for indigent students while children of the rich would pay proportionately.
Oshiomhole, who spoke at the maiden matriculation for pioneer students of the Edo University, Iyamho, last Saturday, said parents of the rich should be made to pay for quality university education for their children while the government should support children of the poor to access education of same quality.
The governor said the present situation in which government subsidises fees for all undergraduates is unsustainable.
He said: “Right now, Nigeria is running a system which is highly deceptive and is not sustainable – a system that I like to describe as a generalised system of suffering, a system that subsidises the children of the rich just as they subsidise the children of the poor.
“For God’s sake, my dear friend who works in an oil sector, why should his son or his daughter go to the university and enjoy subsidy when they can afford to pay $20,000 or $30,000 for his son in Canada or in the UK or in the US? But if they are here in Nigerian universities, they pay N40,000 or N50,000, and we know that is not sustainable.
“I think the way to go is to have the courage to find a way to identify students whose parents can afford to pay school fees to pay economic fees for their university degrees. But the ones who cannot afford, but have what it takes for university education, those ones can also be identified and granted government scholarship so that they are not denied access to quality education.”
Oshiomhole said he has set the process in motion at the university to identify indigent students for support.
“I have already encouraged the management to set up a panel to identify such students, if there are, among the current students, and to make sure that it does not involve any influence or corruption. We have carefully selected a panel to include a man that we all respect, Bishop Dunia as a member of that panel,” he said.
In his speech, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Aluyor praised Oshiomhole for establishing the institution.
“Like every human venture, there are challenges, but you have provided a broad shoulder to lean on. Therefore, we are confident that we will succeed,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor said the university has been accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to run degree programmes in arts, social sciences and management sciences. It began academic activities in April 2016 with the admission of 91 students.
He said the first session of the university will end on 18th November while a new 2016/2017 academic session is expected to start with the admission of new students in November 2016.
Dignitaries at the event included the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Cromwell Idahosa, Service Chiefs, members of the State Executive Council, royal fathers from Edo North, the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen Charles Airhiavbere, among others.
Oshiomhole, who spoke at the maiden matriculation for pioneer students of the Edo University, Iyamho, last Saturday, said parents of the rich should be made to pay for quality university education for their children while the government should support children of the poor to access education of same quality.
The governor said the present situation in which government subsidises fees for all undergraduates is unsustainable.
He said: “Right now, Nigeria is running a system which is highly deceptive and is not sustainable – a system that I like to describe as a generalised system of suffering, a system that subsidises the children of the rich just as they subsidise the children of the poor.
“For God’s sake, my dear friend who works in an oil sector, why should his son or his daughter go to the university and enjoy subsidy when they can afford to pay $20,000 or $30,000 for his son in Canada or in the UK or in the US? But if they are here in Nigerian universities, they pay N40,000 or N50,000, and we know that is not sustainable.
“I think the way to go is to have the courage to find a way to identify students whose parents can afford to pay school fees to pay economic fees for their university degrees. But the ones who cannot afford, but have what it takes for university education, those ones can also be identified and granted government scholarship so that they are not denied access to quality education.”
Oshiomhole said he has set the process in motion at the university to identify indigent students for support.
“I have already encouraged the management to set up a panel to identify such students, if there are, among the current students, and to make sure that it does not involve any influence or corruption. We have carefully selected a panel to include a man that we all respect, Bishop Dunia as a member of that panel,” he said.
In his speech, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Aluyor praised Oshiomhole for establishing the institution.
“Like every human venture, there are challenges, but you have provided a broad shoulder to lean on. Therefore, we are confident that we will succeed,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor said the university has been accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to run degree programmes in arts, social sciences and management sciences. It began academic activities in April 2016 with the admission of 91 students.
He said the first session of the university will end on 18th November while a new 2016/2017 academic session is expected to start with the admission of new students in November 2016.
Dignitaries at the event included the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Cromwell Idahosa, Service Chiefs, members of the State Executive Council, royal fathers from Edo North, the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen Charles Airhiavbere, among others.
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