Most private universities in Nigeria can compete favourably with their peers abroad because they focus on providing quality education to their students, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, Mrs Fatima Jiddum, has said.
She made the remark at a seminar titled ‘Private University and its Place in Nation Building; Standards, Qualities and Expectations’, organised by Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja on Saturday.
She said the education sector was experiencing ‘huge’ transformation in line with best global practices.
“With the intervention of private universities, the Nigerian education system now competes favourably with other universities all over the world,” she said.
She said government alone cannot finance university education and that private universities have complemented government’s effort.
Nile University has excellent faculty credentials, academic calendar as well as research and campus facilities, she said, adding that the university is contributing to nation building by producing the best graduates for the workforce.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Heseyin Sert, said their curriculum and activities were carefully selected to ensure that graduates of the university have a competitive edge in the world.
He said university education must shape the student’s national identity, adding that “we have the opinion that Nigerian students should obtain their first degrees from Nigerian institutions so that they can be instilled with a sense of national identity and citizenship from an early age.”
He said the university offered 19 undergraduate courses in six faculties, 13 masters degree courses, four PGD and four PhD courses in addition to over 20 clubs that provided students with the opportunity to participate in social activities.
“We are working tirelessly to add courses across all departments and educational levels,” he further said.
He said the university also offered scholarships to brilliant students.
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