New universities in Delta state will broaden access to university education, says Okowa
- Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has revealed why his government established four new universities in Delta state
- The governor said the new higher institutions will broaden access to university education in the state
- Governor Okowa said the majority of Deltans could not afford private universities, hence, the need to establish schools they can afford
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Delta governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that the creation of three new universities in the state was to broaden residents' access to university education.
Okowa stated this on Wednesday, April 7 in Asaba while inaugurating an eight-member Project Management Committee for the three newly-established universities in the state.
A statement sent to Legit.ng by the Delta state government noted that the committee has the commissioner for higher education, Professor Patrick Muoboghare as chairman, while Mrs. Bridget Odobor will serve as secretary.
Governor Okowa stated that members of the committee were carefully chosen based on their track records in academia, public administration, and the private sector, adding that they were men of deep intellect and managerial acumen.
Source: Twitter
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The governor said that those criticising the establishment of four universities in the state had no knowledge of the critical data available to the government.
His words:
“I am aware there are some who question the rationale for having four universities in the state. It is because such people are not privy to the data available to the government and are, therefore, understandably not conversant with the harsh reality confronting multiplied thousands of qualified secondary school graduates in their quest for university education.
“As a government, we are daily confronted with the sense of gloom and doom experienced by these young men and women who cannot gain admission into the existing public universities due to inadequate space.”
The governor lamented that the majority of Deltans could not afford the fees charged by private universities.
According to him, frustrated, some of the youth resort to anti-social vices while many join the migrant train in search of greener pastures in Europe using unorthodox methods, with all the grave dangers associated with such.
He added:
“It is therefore incumbent on us as an administration to broaden access to university education for our bright students, especially in the fields of medicine, engineering, law, ICT, and architecture.
“Our administration has worked very hard to curb youth restiveness in the state through various entrepreneurship development programmes.
“Our efforts in this regard stand the risk of coming to naught if every year, more secondary school graduates are left stranded not because they are not qualified but simply because there is not enough space in the existing public universities to accommodate them.”
Recall that Governor Okowa had on Tuesday, April 6 said major facilities needed for the full take-off of the newly-established universities in the state would be provided within the limit of available resources.
The governor promised that he would do everything humanly possible in the remaining two years of his administration for the universities to operate all approved courses by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Legit.ng had on Thursday, February 25 reported that Governor Okowa signed three bills for the establishment of new universities in the state.
The bills, which were presented to Okowa for assent by the Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, were for the University of Delta, Agbor; Dennis Osadebay University, Anwai and the University of Science and Technology, Ozoro.
Source: Legit.ng
