The minister of education, Tahir Mamman, has asked the management of Al-Muhibbah Open University, Abuja to offer programmes that are relevant to the local communities.
Mamman spoke in Abuja at the unveiling and maiden matriculation ceremony of the institution, where it matriculated 105 students across three faculties and 14 programmes.
The minister said due to the large number of students searching for university education, there was need to open up the system for private education to meet the educational yearnings of the youths.
“Open distance learning education is a relatively new frontier for us and that is the direction our tertiary education is moving.
“I know as a fact, the government ownership of open university has risen to over 700,000 students, the largest in Africa and the pool of young men and women who are interested in education is unsearchable and very large so certainly government cannot meet these demands.”
“So it is appropriate that we open the system to the private sector who are really committed to the provision of this level of education,” he said.
He charged the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other regulatory agencies to come up with quality assurance mechanisms to strengthen open universities.
“What we have at the moment is largely focused on conventional institutions, as we strengthen this level of university education, the public must have the assurance that they deliver the quality programmes which they give approval for,” he said.
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