Bowen VC faults private varsities’ exclusion from TETFund, NELFUND

The Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof. Jonathan Babalola, has described as unfair the Federal Government’s decision not to extend the benefits of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to students and researchers in privately owned universities.

Babalola, who spoke in Iwo on Monday while addressing journalists ahead of activities marking the university’s 21st convocation, said the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of Private Universities had made efforts to convince the Federal Government to extend TETFund and NELFUND support to researchers and students of private universities, respectively.

He, however, said the efforts had not yielded the desired results, urging the Federal Government to recognise the contributions of researchers in private universities to nation-building and provide the necessary support.

The vice-chancellor also argued that students in private universities, like their counterparts in public institutions, deserved to benefit from NELFUND.

“And government will say because they are in a private university, they don’t need help. That is why I said it is unfair. If you all contribute, you must all share. If the money is only from government, fine. This is an opportunity to tell government, let us do what is right. I understand the problem is that they think, okay, how can we support somebody else’s agenda?

“But we can do it directly to the individual students who are Nigerians. So if you are giving a research grant to Bowen University, let the research grant be to the lecturer directly. So that you say, okay, it’s Nigeria that is benefiting from the output of the research and not the university itself.

“I am sure there are ways of circumventing what the Federal Government has as its fear. But I think we must not lose the fact that we are all Nigerians.

“I tell you now, of the top scientists in the world, we have several in Bowen University. Some universities that are getting this grant don’t have one. So the brains that are here at Bowen University are being wasted by the Nigerian government because they are not giving them the opportunity,” the VC said.

Speaking on the graduating students, Babalola said the university would confer degrees and postgraduate qualifications on 1,443 graduands, comprising 1,345 undergraduates and 98 postgraduate students.

He said 218 students would graduate with First Class degrees, 657 with Second Class Upper Division, while 315 would receive Second Class Lower Division degrees.

He also disclosed that 86 students would graduate with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degrees.

Highlighting some of the achievements recorded during the outgoing academic year, the vice-chancellor announced that all eight academic programmes presented for accreditation by the university secured full accreditation status.

“These programmes are Surveying and Geoinformatics, Biochemistry, Industrial Chemistry, Pure and Applied Biology, Religious Studies, Architecture, Medical Laboratory Science and Doctor of Physiotherapy.

“For us, this achievement is more than regulatory compliance. It affirms the quality of our academic offerings, the competence of our faculty and the university’s sustained investment in facilities, learning resources and institutional standards,” he said.

He added that following a professional accreditation exercise conducted by the Council of Legal Education, the admission quota for the university’s Bachelor of Laws programme was increased by 100 per cent, representing a significant advancement in its capacity to provide quality legal education.