Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has revealed why universities in the state increase fees.
This may not be unconnected with the criticisms trailing fees being charged by the universities.
Okowa said yesterday at the Founders’ Day Celebration of University of Delta, Agbor; “People must understand that the naira has depreciated a lot and the universities must run their affairs. We pay the salaries of all the staff and the infrastructure as much as we can but it’s important that the universities are financially strong to enable then run the day-to-day activities of the institution.
“We believe that we don’t want to have universities that cannot keep students in a functional state of learning so I appeal to parents to please bear with us as the naira has since depreciated.
“I have heard people complain that the fees are too much, but I know that the total fees paid in this institution and the other two institutions is less than N200,000 per annum.
“I am also aware of private universities that charge fees running up to millions per annum. Imagine the plight of an average family with three wards who are qualified for admission to universities.”
He said the establishment of three new universities remained the highest of his administration’s legacies for the state.
In her speech, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Stella Chiemeke, who lauded the vision behind the establishment of the university, said that at its inception in 2021, UNIDEL commenced academic activities with eight faculties approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Chiemeke stated that four of the faculties were domiciled at the main campus in Agbor while two each were domiciled at Owa-Oyibu and Owa-Alero campuses in Ika North-East Local Government Area of the state.
According to her, the Faculty of Arts has eight programmes, Faculty of Computing offers four programmes, the Faculty of Education mounts 22 programmes, and the Faculties of Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Science have six, five and 12 programmes, respectively.
She pointed out that the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences had 12 programmes, and that the Faculty of Law had only one programme.
Delivering a lecture titled “National Growth And Development: Building A Robust Partnership Between The Military And The Ivory Tower For A Better Nigeria, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, said that national growth and development were the aspirations of every nation.
Irabor noted that most nations utilised the instruments of state such as the armed forces and educational sectors in achieving such objectives, pointing out that in Nigeria, the Armed Forces provided the enabling security environment in line with its role as stipulated in the 1999 constitution.
