President
Goodluck Jonathan has tasked universities in the country to urgently
address the issue of limited access by students to acquire higher
education in tertiary institutions. The president was speaking on
Saturday, at the 39th convocation ceremony of the Obafemi Awolowo
University (OAU), in Ile-Ife, Osun State where he was represented by the
Honorable Minister for Education, Professor Ruquayat Ahmed Rufai.
According
to the president, there was crucial need for universities to explore
measures and strategies that would enhance unhindered access of many
eligible youths with burning desire to acquire higher education. He
said, “Government has observed that in spite of its efforts, hundreds of
thousands of our youths already equipped with basic requisite
qualifications do not get placements in our universities due to limited
access”.
The
president continues: “Related to the issue of access is the annual
carrying capacity of the Nigerian university system, which is about
150,000 compared to the annual demand of about 1 million qualified
candidates.
“The
import of this is for first generation universities, including Obafemi
Awolowo University, to diversify the mode of knowledge delivery and
provision of lifelong education for the teeming population. They should
also adopt the use of networking facilities such as audiovisual and
other modern teaching aids that would expand the reach of delivery”,
Jonathan stated.
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