The Federal Government has debunked news making rounds about it’s decision to handover public universities to private investors.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman announced this on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at the Quarterly Engagement of Education Ministers with Directors, Heads of Agencies and Parastatals under the Ministry held in Abuja.
TheFact Daily gathered that the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), had raised alarm over claims that the Federal Government was making moves to handover public universities to private investors saying it will not be in the interest of the country.
This was contained in a communique issued on Sunday, July 14, 2024 at the end of its National Executive Committee, NEC, held in Benin, Edo State and endorsed by the National President, Dr Niyi Sunmonu.
It said, “the NEC vehemently condemns this proposal by the Federal Government to hand over public universities to investors and demands that the policy should be stopped forthwith”.
In response, the Minister said, “there has been misinformation on the media on one aspect of the policy of this government in respect of tertiary education.
“Some people have been carrying the information that the Federal government is selling off public universities to private investors.This is this is completely false”.
He added that the government of the day believed in the provision of public institutions.
“As we all know, this government has not shyed away from reforms that this country needs.
“The private sector for decades now have played a major role in the provision of Tertiary Education. There are more private universities in Nigeria than all the government own combined.
“What this government has done is to open up the tertiary education level in particular the universities for global competitiveness that allows those who operate in this area at international level to come into the country and set up institutions either by themselves or in collaboration with our local universities under very clear guidelines of what is called transnational education”, Mamman said.
He further explained that in other parts of the world, countries benefit immensely from having renown international institutions, setting up campuses or setting up completely new institutions in those countries.
According to him, “those have taken standards to those countries, it has also saved those countries foreign exchange and even brought more into the country.
“This is what this government has done, it has opened up the tertiary institutions that enables people from the rest of the world to come in and invest in our tertiary education. It is not parting with any of these institutions.
“Those misinterpreting this policy have got the message wrong”.
