Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran, Vice-Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, has urged the Federal Government to assist private universities financially in the area of research development and improved quality of graduates.
Ojediran made the plea at the ninth convocation ceremony of the institution on Saturday in Ota.
“There is urgent need for the Federal Government to provide adequate financial assistance to the private universities to improve the quality of graduates and research development,” he said.
Ojediran said running a private or public institution required huge funding and good infrastructure to produce quality graduates.
According to him, there is no doubt that products of private universities have made positive contributions to the nation’s economic growth.
“Private universities are partners in progress with the Federal Government by providing highly skilled human development for the nation,” he said.
The vice-chancellor also said the National Universities Commission had approved some courses for the institution.
They are Civil Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Architecture and Estate Management.
He, however, advised graduands to work harder and applied the knowledge acquired from the institution toward the nation and human development.
In his remarks, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, the Chancellor of the institution, said no nation could achieve a sustainable development without massive investments in education.
Joda said the Federal Government alone could not finance the nation’s education system.
He urged the private sector to assist the government in addressing some of the challenges facing the sector.
“There is the need for the private sector to partner with the Federal Government in addressing some of the challenges as facing the nation’s education system,” Joda said.
He listed some of the challenges to include poor findings, lack of manpower and poor infrastructure development.
Four hundred and forty-two students graduated from the university in the 2016/2017 academic session.
They comprised 37 First Class, 128 Second Class Upper, 152 Second Class Lower, 67 Third Class, while 58 are post-graduate students.
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