The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has vowed that the Federal Government will get more Nigerian universities in Africa’s first 1,000 list, stating its commitment to revamp the educational system in Nigeria and giving the public university system a pride of place (sic), so that when (the) next global assessment is done, more Nigerian universities will be in the first 1,000 in Africa.
The labour minister, during the reconvened meeting between the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ leadership and the federal government on Thursday in Abuja, Said “I am a firm believer in the public university system, that is why my children are there. I didn’t send them to private ones. One graduated from Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Awka, and my daughter from UNILAG,” Ngige said.
He added, ”My third child will also come out possibly next month from a public university again. I don’t believe that public universities are going to be abandoned.
He further assured the union that Buhari’s regime would not abandon the public universities despite dwindling resources.
Ngige added that the government would be happy to concentrate its limited resources on areas that would produce good effects.
“If the private sector can bring excellence to our universities, (the) government can as well do the same. So, working hand in hand with ASUU as we are currently doing is a model we must keep,” Ngige further noted. “We will not be going to war with ASUU all the time. We can do constructive engagement. If there is something that the government can do and it says it can’t, I am here to say no, you can because I am privy to some information.”
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.