Senate Passes Federal Varsity Kachia Bill

At its plenary on Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill to establish the Federal University of Applied Sciences and sited it in Kachia, Kaduna State.

The Senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Sunday Marshall Katung, sponsored the bill in the National Assembly,

The bill initially sought to use the Federal College of Statistics, Manchok, for the university. Still, stakeholders, in consultation with the Kaduna South Senator, said since there was already an existing structure in Kachia, the location of the varsity should be changed for immediate takeoff after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent. The siting of the Federal University of Applied Sciences Kachia, Kaduna State, followed the receipt and consideration of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND on the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Manchok (Establishment) Bill, 2024 by the chairman, Senator Mohammed, Dandutse Muntari (Katsina South).

Senator Dandutse said from the views expressed by the stakeholders at the public hearing and subsequent analysis of both oral and written presentations of memoranda; the Committee observed that:

“The establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State would undoubtedly go a long way in enhancing educational infrastructure, thereby providing people who can apply scientific knowledge to the improvement and solution of environmental hazards, and give exposure to professional studies in technology.

“The Hallmark of the proposed Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, is to produce graduates well equipped with practical and theoretical grounded knowledge in technology, applied science, commerce and management to reduce risks and challenges of productivity, data and information, cost benefits, marketing and security bedevilling humanity.

“The establishment of the Federal University will reduce the ills around the national economy and de-escalate chances of entrenching heinous criminal activities being perpetrated by men of the underworld.

“The knowledge and skills that would be acquired by the graduates from the envisaged Act of the National Assembly will go a long way in expanding and deepening the horizon of the graduates in information management, and consequently improve national integration and general social progress of the multicultural, young people of this country with yearning and aspiration to acquire skills in information, economic and science management. Hence, there is a need for the Senate to consider and approve this legislative proposal for the benefit of humanity in general and Nigeria as a nation-state, in particular,” the Senator said.

Therefore, the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND recommended “that the Senate do consider and pass the Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, to Provide Full-time Courses in Technology, Applied Science Management and other fields of studies and to make provisions for the general administration of such university, and for other matters connected in addition to that (Bill, 2024) (SB: 13), as recommended”.

It will be recalled that Senator Sunday Marshall Katung (Kaduna South) sponsored the bill to establish the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Machok.

The bill passed a second reading and was referred to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund on May 7, 2024.

The committee later held a public hearing, which received overwhelming support from Kaduna. Many people attended, including traditional rulers, who sought the university’s location in Kachia.