NUC urged to monitor new varsities for standards

The National Universities Commission (NUC), has been urged to monitor the eight new universities recently approved by the Federal Government to ensure they conformed with standards.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TetFund, Sen. Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano), made the call during interview with News Agency of Nigeria, in Abuja on Sunday.

Barau commended the Federal Government for the approval which he said was a good development.

“It is a very good development, they should be closely monitored by NUC to ensure conformity with standards and quality in the output of graduates.

“Once they conform to the standards of NUC, I do not think we will have any problem.

“It is good that new universities have been accredited and it is a very good development; the more the merrier’’, he said.

He held that there was nothing wrong with the proliferation of universities.

“If you have difficulty in getting admission, in a situation where you have thousands of qualified applicants it shows that there is still room for the establishment of more universities.

“So, having more universities is commendable’’, he said.

According to him, having more universities will reduce the difficulty of aspirants in gaining admission.

Barau supported the high school fees charged by private universities and attributed it to the better quality of education they rendered.

He, however, urged the schools’ authorities not to capitalise on yearning for higher education to charge exorbitant fees.

“They should try not to rip-off parents and students. They should charge fees in a manner that will conform to international best practices’’, he admonished.

The eight new private universities brought the number of universities in Nigeria from 143 to 151 while the number of private universities rose from 61 to 69.