President Muhammadu Buhari has said that government alone cannot meet the needs of higher education and the private sector should invest more in research and development in the universities.
He said his government was determined to continue to support the upgrade of infrastructure, teaching materials and research equipment in universities. The president stated this on Saturday at the 15th to 20th combined convocation ceremony of University of Abuja.
According to him, the universities on their part must not rest on their oars but compliment the effort of government by relentlessly exploring opportunities to attack private sector cooperation and investment.
Represented by the Director Tertiary Education, federal ministry of Education, Mrs. Hindatu Abdullahi, the president noted that research should not be relegated to the background.
He said universities should ensure that quality of graduates produced compare with the products from other universities globally.
At the pre-convocation lecture, the president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Oyewale Tomori said majority of Nigerian universities could not meet the standard of new generation institutions.
Prof Tomori who spoke on the theme “Building A New Generation University: Prospect and Problems,” noted that out of 141 universities in the country, just about five could meet up the ratio.
He decried the establishment of more varsities by previous administrations noting that they are not needed.
According to him, there are no enough lecturers and universities established in the last ten years cannot produce enough PhDs holders.
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