Funding Nigerian Universities Collective Responsibility – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has called on stakeholders in the nation’s education sector to collaborate with his administration in funding tertiary education.

Tinubu, who stated this during the award of postgraduate certificates at the 36th Convocation of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) on Saturday, urged the stakeholders to restructure the educational system to ensure sustainable financing.

Represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Abdullahi Ribadu, the president emphasised that funding universities worldwide is a collective responsibility shared by all stakeholders.

He, however, noted that his administration has no intention of abdicating its responsibilities towards higher education institutions.

“It is also crucial to emphasise that the relationship between our tertiary institutions and industry should be strengthened,” he stressed.

He urged Nigerian academics to urgently produce impactful research that offers solutions to the country’s challenges.

While noting that FUTA is endowed with high-quality and innovative researchers capable of undertaking this task, he encouraged the institution to remain forthright and focused to uphold the confidence placed in it by the government and other stakeholders.

President Tinubu also called for research outputs from tertiary institutions to be more practical and beneficial, enabling industries to make effective use of them.

He challenged the graduands to apply their skills in diverse entrepreneurial activities, agriculture, and ICT to create jobs and become self-reliant.

Earlier, the vice chancellor of FUTA, Prof Adenike Oladiji, announced that 1,030 students graduated from the School of Postgraduate Studies, revealing that, “For today’s event, the summary of graduating students is as follows:

Postgraduate Diploma – 91, M-Tech – 647, Doctor of Philosophy – 169, School of Professional Development – 123.”

She highlighted that the university is awarding doctoral degrees in renewable energy technology for the first time.

Prof Oladiji also stated that all programmes presented to the NUC have received full accreditation.

“The university continues to uphold its position as a leading hub of academic and scientific excellence, with numerous staff and alumni recognised among the world’s top two per cent of scientists, according to the prestigious rankings by Stanford University, USA, and Elsevier.

“The achievements of our researchers have continued to gain recognition both within Nigeria and internationally. In the just-concluded academic session, three research groups at the university secured separate international grants totaling £136,511,” she added.

The Vice Chancellor urged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the institution, stating that FUTA is known for self-reliance and integrity.