Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof.Joshua Ogunwole, has warned Federal Government against favouring public universities in the area of funding by the Tertiary Education Fund, popularly known as TETFUND.
He said the current attitude of the government towards the private universities in the country may make it impossible for the country to fully benefit from the results of researches carried out by the privately funded higher institutions.
Ogunwole, who spoke with newsmen at the university’s library, said the country needed to have proper structures and equal funding arrangements through TETFUND in order to reap the benefits of the researches embarked upon by the various public and private universities.
The Bowen VC said, “For research to serve Nigeria well, there must be a structure, there must be a challenge for each research centre to address and in the case of failure to meet their target, there should be consequences. This will discourage nepotism and enhance result-driven goals.
“There is a need for collaboration among universities in Nigeria, no one school can do it all. We must acknowledge that a school is better in a field and also celebrate our scientists, instead of waiting for them to go abroad and be celebrated.
“Private universities don’t enjoy TETFUND at all, and before they can, the National Assembly will have to amend the act to accommodate them. We must stop the discrimination, research effort does not choose to come whether from a public or private school. Research output emerges from the national effort, so, our discrimination may not help the national research enterprise at all.
“As university administrators, we do not have to wait for the National Universities Commission to overhaul the national curriculum, the body has set a Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) for each school to surpass. So, it is the responsibility of schools to look inward and develop a standard for itself.”