Subsidising University EducationOnaiyekan begs FG to support private universities at VUNA convocation Cardinal Onaiyekan says the Federal Government should give private universities access to facilities for subsidising tertiary education, which is being enjoyed by their public counterparts.

Veritas University students  Veritas

 

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has urged the Federal Government to help private universities by giving them access to facilities for subsidising university education.

Speaking at the combined convocation ceremony of the Veritas University, Abuja (VUNA) for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 sessions, Onaiyekan said supporting private universities will help speed the Nigeria's economic growth.

"We raise our eyes up to our government to stretch out to us the much needed hand of fellowship and partnership. It will be recalled that after years of hesitation, our government finally gave up its monopoly of university education in Nigeria, opening the way for private institutions," Onaiyekan was quoted as saying in a The Guardian report.

The cleric noted that the government had a role to play beyond merely granting licences for the establishment of private universities.

He noted that the institution deserves government support because they help in turn help government by shoring up the shortfall of access to tertiary education and also help in building Nigerians with character and integrity.

"They, therefore, complement government efforts not only in providing the much-needed extra admission spaces, but also in giving Nigerians a variety of choice in university education."

He then urged the government to allow private universities to access its education support facilities which are only open to public institutions so far.

"We raise our eyes up to our government to stretch out to us the much needed hand of fellowship and partnership.

"We appeal to government to give our universities access to its facilities for subsidising tertiary education in Nigeria."

It will be recalled that the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA), Prof. Musbau Akanji, recently said private universities should be allowed to benefit from the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND), a move which the Executive Secretary of the TETFUND, Professor Sulaiman Bogoro said is impossible owing to their 'excessive' fees.

Cardinal Onaiyekan is the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and the Chancellor of Veritas University, Veritas University is the Catholic University of Nigeria, founded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in 2007.

It is located in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory.