Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN, at the 20th Convocation of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, called for more investments in Open Universities in the country and expansion of capacities of tertiary institutions.
The Media Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, Dr Sam Idiagbonya, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, indicated that Vice President Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, emphasized that the expansion of tertiary institutions would accommodate more youths who constituted 70 per cent of the country’s population.
”The expansion will also enhance and engender quality and healthy competition with foreign tertiary institutions.
The VP had noted, “As a nation, we must invest in more open universities. We cannot overemphasize the need to expand the capacity of our tertiary education landscape, cost-effectively.
“According to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in 2019, the carrying capacity across our tertiary institutions stood at 750,000 while no fewer than 1.9 million candidates apply yearly.”
The vice president said there was need to encourage Transnational Education by deliberately attracting top foreign
universities across the world to set up their campuses in Nigeria.
“This will enhance quality and engender healthy competition with tertiary institutions around the world,” he said.
Referencing the former Prime Minister, Republic of Guinea, Osinbajo said it was no longer news that “the world is a Global village” and that universities across Africa must align with international best practices.
According to him, this will help to deliver standards and qualitative education to students. And anything short of this will make our continent uncompetitive.
The vice president said that tertiary education sector like other industries had several governing bodies and agencies dedicated to ensuring that quality and standards were maintained.
He then called on the governing bodies and agencies to efficiently contribute their quota toward ensuring world class tertiary institutions were operated in the country.