The Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of Private Universities in Nigeria, Prof. Timothy Olagbemiro, has said the number of students seeking admission into private universities in the country is dwindling because of poor economic conditions.
The chairman, who is the Vice-Chancellor of Edwin Clarke University, Kiagbodo in Delta State said the poor economic condition in the country was preventing many parents from sending their children to private universities, saying this was constituting a major problem facing the institutions.
Olagbemiro said this in an interview with the Punch at the 2021 meeting of CVCRPUN which was held at Bowen University, Iwo on Thursday.
He said the problem could be addressed by the government giving loans to students to finance their university education at private varsities and even in public universities.
“People are poor, they are not making ends meet. People want to send their children to private universities but they don’t have money and the success of private universities lies in the number of students they have.
“They should assist private universities by allowing students to have access to loans. When they graduate, they will pay back the loans and this will force them to behave well. They will not be vagabonds, they will think of paying back the loans and not be looking for who to fight “ he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, in his welcome address said private universities needed to demand support from the government for a more effective running of the institutions.
Source: The Punch
Leave a Reply