Category: Education

By Victoria Adewunmi-Oni

Parents have expressed concern over increase in tuition fees in most institutions, owing to fuel subsidy removal which has affected most sectors, most especially the education sector.

 Owing to the increase in the cost of living as a result of fuel subsidy removal, public and private institutions of learning across the country, have taken a decision to increase tuition fees.

 The parents have also urged teachers and schools to teach students problem-solving techniques and 21-century knowledge.

Read Also: Education: The task ahead

 In an interview with The Nation, a parent of a prospective student of UNILAG, Mr. Simon Salau, described the situation as  outrageous.

He noted that it is difficult for parents to enroll their wards into universities, adding that private institutions are not an option for the masses at the moment.

 Salau also argued that natural oil is one of the key resources of the nation, and has a long way in affecting the economy, and other sectors like educational system.

 According to him, some people have to choose between feeding and education, adding that he prays that the government will do something about it.

 Another parent, Mrs. Bolaji Akanji, told The Nation that with the high cost of education, there is no increase in salary, and cost of living is relatively high.

 She said: “You will cut your coat, not according to your size, but according to the cloth that is available. In this regard, we have to cut some excesses; no flamboyant living for now, until we are able to balance things.”

 Speaking about her son studying in a public university, she said: “We discovered that most of the things being taught are outdated, to what is actually needed in the field.

 “Something should be done to rectify that, so that these children would be able to come to the realities of what is in town, and would be able to compete with their colleagues.

 “There is the need for a complete overhauling of the educational system, to give functional education to children; not something that the English people brought to us, or one that would just produce white-collar jobs, but one that would be useful for us to think critically and build our nation; one that is problem-solving.’’

• Group implements projects in 121 schools in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo

Teach For Nigeria (TFN), a non-profit organisation, last week graduated its fifth cohort of 197 outstanding change-makers.

It focused on enlisting Nigeria’s most promising future leaders to improve foundational learning outcomes and expanding life opportunities for low-income children across Nigeria.

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This year’s graduating class implemented 87 “Be The Change” projects, which are social innovation projects aimed at addressing some of the systemic challenges affecting quality education delivery in their schools and communities.

The graduation, which took place in Lekki, Lagos State, had policymakers, industry experts, partners, alumni and stakeholders in attendance.

FormerMinister of Information,  Frank Nweke Jnr; Chairman, Greensprings Educational Services Limited, Loi Koiki; Ogun State TESCOM Chairman, Joshua Olalekan Ifede; Special Adviser on Education to Ogun State Governor, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, among others, attended the event.

Chief Executive Officer, TFN, Folawe Omikunle, thanked the graduating class for their commitment to various community development projects.

 “Through 87 impactful “Be the Change Projects”, they have tackled educational challenges, fought for equity, protected the environment, promoted peace, ignited creativity, and fostered innovation for a more sustainable future,” she said.

Reacting to Teach for Nigeria’s remarkable impact in improving foundational literacy and numeracy, she highlighted that students in TFN classes made between two and three months of additional learning gains in literacy and about five months in numeracy compared to other students.

Nweke Jnr., also Chairman, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, who decried the quality of education in the country, expressed optimism about the TFN programme and its potential to address educational inequity challenges.

 “The template created here at Teach For Nigeria clearly shows that transforming Nigeria’s education is possible under purposeful leadership,” he said.

Susan Benjamin, a graduating fellow, said:  “Through the Teach For Nigeria Fellowship, I have enhanced my leadership skills by implementing various projects in my placement community. I am now an ambassador for Social Emotional Learning “With the skills and opportunities I have been exposed to, I have rediscovered my sense of purpose and I remain dedicated to becoming a driving force for positive change in the African educational sector.”

The graduating cohort served in 121 schools across Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states, impacting over 50,000 students in underserved communities.

Graduating fellows without any teaching qualification pursued a Professional Diploma in Education at Teach for Nigeria partner school, Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology Omu – Ajose, formerly Tai Solarin College of Education, Ogun State, through a fully funded scholarship. They were inducted into the teaching profession by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) before the end of their fellowship.

Professor Mojeed Kolawole Akinsola of the Department of Science and Technology, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan has called on governments to “recognise mathematically-knowledgeably teachers as having a central role to play in mathematics education”.

The don said this would encourage rigorously evaluated initiatives for attracting and retaining effective mathematics teachers through encouraging financial take home pay.

Read Also: Education: The task ahead

He declared that mathematics is a powerful instructional tool for understanding nature.

Akinsola spoke while delivering his inaugural lecture, entitled: “Demystification of Mathematics: Glimpses from the Lens of a Mathematics Educator”, at Trenchard Hall of UI.

He explained that mathematics uses quantitative symbols to express universal truth and has been a driving force for cultures.

Speaking from a spiritual angle, Akinsola said mathematics was used to design and build Noah’s Ark, adding that God ordered Noah to prepare an Ark and gave him the mathematical dimension to use. “This can be found in the book of Genesis 6:15: ‘And this is the fashion, which thou shall make it of: The length of the Ark shall be 300 cubits, the breath of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits.’ God indeed is the greatest mathematician,” he said.

On the image of mathematics,  Akinsola said: “Many people’s image of mathematics represents it negatively, such that mathematics is perceived difficult, cold, abstract and in many culture largely masculine. Mathematics requires good memory and it is solved by working intensively until the problem is solved.”

On language and culture, Akinsola emphasised that Nigeria is gradually becoming a multicultural and multi-lingual state due primarily to the diverse people within the country.

On how language could assist mathematics education, he said: “There are three major languages commonly used in Nigeria and they are Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages, while English language remained the official language. The National Policy on Education 2014 recommended that the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction for the first three years of basic education.

“This policy to my best knowledge is not been obeyed. It has been recognised that communication about mathematics plays an important role in the learning of the subject and constituently there are various factors related to the language which affect student learning.”

Making recommendations, Akinsola recommended that a Mathematics teacher should not teach more than 60 students per day. This is to enable him or her to check students’ works and assignment and make appropriate correction.

He emphasised that only teachers who are specialists in Mathematics should teach the subject.

“This would be a specialist with strong knowledge of Mathematics, who will teach mathematics full time to several classrooms pupils than teaching many subjects to one class, which is common in many primary schools presently,” he said.

Akinsola added that to improve student learning in Mathematics, they must study habit and their attitude should be improved by orientation, guidance and counseling, holding friendly competition in mathematics, encouraging members of Mathematics Club and monitoring of the students study habit by parents.

Also, Ministries of Education in various states, he said, should organise yearly workshops during the long vacation for teachers of mathematics to equip them with the new research findings in  mathematics education.

The don added that this would enable the Mathematics teacher to gain new insights into better ways of teaching the subject.

Akinsola also hinted that there should be collaboration between researchers and practitioners, “as instructional practice should be informed by highly quality research when available and by the best professional judgment and experience of accomplished classroom teachers, thus, research findings should be made available to the classroom teachers through workshops every year during long vacations to be spare-headed by National Mathematical Centre, Abuja and in collaboration with various ministries of education.

The 2023 election activities of the Association of Mass Communication Students (AMACOS) ’95 set came to a climax last week with the emergence of a new executive body to oversee the affairs of the association in the next two years.

 The President- elect, Percy Ademokun, on behalf of his exco members, lauded the effort of the AMACOS Electoral Committee (AEC) led by Folajimi Osinaike after he announced the election results on Friday true to the time schedule of the committee.

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 Ademokun praised the outgoing executive, led by Ayodele Makanju, for its total dedication and commitment to the work of the association throughout the two terms service year.

 The election was described as free and fair by members of the Class ’95, who also noted that the energetic approach given the election campaign by the individual contestant brought a face-lift into the set’s participatory interests.

 Public Relations Officer-elect Segun Adeleye gave the names of other winners and their posts as Kike Akeusola bagged the VP-1; and Alaba Kokumo VP-2; Victoria Obasanya  the General Secretary with Owolabi Odesola as her Assistant; Bukola Omolodun won the Social Secretary seat with Yetunde Onatuga Abiodun as her Assistant, the PRO Adeleye, is to be assisted by Funmi Adewoju Suleodu, while Lola Desalu is the new Chief Whip. Funlola Kalesanwo-Oyenuga picked the association’s account as the treasurer. Olaitan Olaniyan got the Welfare Secretary and Yinka Olaniyan retained the seat of the Financial Secretary.

 The swearing in of the newly elected is expected to hold at the 2023 AGM which will come up on the 2nd September.

 However, the incoming President, on behalf of his cabinet has appealed for the support of all members and encouraged them to be present at the AGM,  which he assured will be first of its kind.

Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has inducted 341 students of the Faculty of Education, Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, into teaching.

 Its Registrar/Chief Executive, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who performed the oath-taking ceremony in Ekpoma, charged them to be quality ambassadors of the university.

 Ajiboye further urged the inductees to be core professionals and contribute to the growth and development of education.

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 He said: “Teaching profession is critical and germane to the growth of any nation as any error from a teacher affects a generation”.

 Ajiboye was represented by the Director, Regulation, Accreditation and Enforcement, TRCN, Dr. Okunola Abimbola Hammed.

 He commended the level of training impacted in the inductees by the university, saying they were expected to replicate same in their dealings as professional teachers.

 “With your induction today, you have been placed on a better standing in the labour market.

 “The teaching profession is a very noble one, extremely important as no nation can grow beyond the quality of its teachers.”

 The Chairman of the sixth induction and Acting Vice-Chancellor of  AAU,  Prof. Asomwan Sonnie Adagbonyin, enjoined the inductees to be good ambassadors of the university.

 Adagbonyin was represented at the ceremony by the university’s Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Theophilus Agweda.

 The acting VC said, “I believe that the training you have received in this university has equipped you to become excellent teachers who must bridge the gap between classrooms and real-life experiences for learners.

 “This is an onerous task because without you teachers, there will be no sound minds and any society like that is a society in darkness and chaos.”

 To the Dean, Faculty of Education, AAU, Prof Lawrence Aguele and some of the inductees, the ceremony was a dream fulfilled.

 Aguele said: “Although the session has been a very trying one for both staff and students of the largest Faculty in our great university, it is important to know that it all ended in praise.”

Oyo State Government’s policy is geared at developing sports at the primary school level and its pupils will soon dominate the sector at the national level, Co-ordinating Director, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Jacob Dairo, has said.

 Dairo stated this in Ibadan on Tuesday during the distribution of sports equipment donated by the state government.

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 “SUBEB is poised to restore the leading position of the state in primary school sports activities and take school sports to an enviable height in Nigeria,” he said.

 The distribution of equipment to 82 public primary schools was in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

 Benefitting schools, from the state’s three senatorial districts, got sports equipment such as handballs, goalposts, nets, skipping ropes, table tennis bats, badminton rackets and others.

 Dairo, who heads the board’s Schools Services Department, said SUBEB got delivery of the sports items courtesy of Governor Seyi Makinde.

 “The essence of the occasion is to officially flag off the distribution of the items to the various schools in the state.

 “The Oyo State Government intends to catch pupils young through the facilities, and the items will enable pupils to participate actively in sports,” he said.

 Dairo said the government would organise a sports competition among schools at local and zonal levels, while the overall winners would represent the state at national sports competitions.

 He, however, charged the schools to take care of the items delivered to them, urging them to make proper use of the equipment for the purpose for which they were intended.

 The co-ordinating director added that Makinde has also approved the commencement of the Agricultural Education Training Programme for 73 primary schools in all the state’s 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

 He said the programme would help in training Education Secretaries, Heads of Section, Head teachers, Agricultural Studies teachers and School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) representatives from various local governments.

 Dairo said a monitoring team would go round the schools to ensure that funds allocated for the training programme are properly utilised.

 Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Chapter, Mr. Raji Oladimeji, applauded the initiatives put in place by the Oyo State Government for pupils.

 The NUT Chairman said sports activities, which were almost moribund in most schools, were due to the topography of land in most schools.

 “This development will however help resuscitate sports activities in the schools,” he said.

 Also, the Chairman, Association of Primary School Head teachers of Nigeria, AOPSHON, Oyo State branch, Mr. Adedeji Adekunle, appealed to the trainees to pay optimal attention to the teachings.

 Adekunle also applauded Makinde for his support to basic education in the state.

The new Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in Zamfara State, Malam Wadatau Madawaki, has declared that science and technical education will remain top priority of the state’s educational policy.

 Madawaki, one of the 18 commissioners sworn in on Tuesday by Governor Dauda Lawan, disclosed this while addressing  reporters in Gusau yesterday,.

 The commissioner explained that the state would adopt such policies particularly at the basic level,  so that the school children would be prepared  with techniques and skills to aid self-employment in future.

 He said that such quality education at basic level would  develop the capacity of the children right from the beginning and serve as bedrock for their further education at the tertiary level.

Read Also: Education: The task ahead

 Madawaki, who recalled with concern how insecurity  disrupted and grounded educational structure of the state, assured that he would use his vast experience as an educationist to engender meaningful development in the system.

 “Our educational policy will  give required attention to science and technical vocation as part of means of empowering our youths and reviving the state economy.

 “We are engaging experts and specialists from all parts of the state and beyond to use their experience and revive educational system of the state.

 “Henceforth, none of our children will graduate and be waiting for government jobs because they would have acquired skills at the basic level for self-employment,” he said.

 Madawaki maintained that  secondary and tertiary education could only be meaningful with a solid foundation at the basic or elementary level .

 He, therefore, promised that the state would ensure provision of quality education at the basic level to serve as bedrock for other levels of learning.

The Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, Prof. Ademola Stephen Tayo, has urged young Africans to be ready to be change-agents to bring about transformative leadership that would make the continent and the whole world a better place for all.

 The VC said it was quite obvious that the past generations of leaders had failed, while nothing much is being done at present to combat challenges confronting Africa. He tasked   youths to take up this challenge and be more purposeful and determined to change the narrative.

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 Tayo was represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. David Alao, at the seventh Babcock International Model United Nations (BIMUN) Conference at the Business School Auditorium.

The conference, which is fashioned after United Nations General Assembly, attracted students from over 25 African countries.

 The VC said Africa remains a hotbed of multidimensional challenges such as avoidable conflicts and war, hunger, poor health, unemployment, poverty with over 430million living below poverty line, among others.

 Tayo said the topic of this year’s conference “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges,” was timely as it was an avenue to strategise on how to confront these hydra-headed challenges mutating at a terrific speed. 

 He said: “What the global society requires today is transformative solution to perennial challenges. We need to be reminded that we cannot continue to do same thing the same way and expect a different result. This is why your gathering here should not be seen as a business and a challenging moment to think out of the box on how you can be a change agent to a decaying system.

 “It might not be sufficient to note that the past generations had failed while not much change is in vogue now but we can make the difference. I am glad to note that BIMUN has an international network of over 45 African countries and in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre. May I further express my delight that you have as part of your goal to empower a new generation of young Africans to be leaders who will build a better world for all.”

  Secretary-General, BIMUN, Naa Fofo Djanie urged youths to use their power of creativity, courage and commitment to help fight the ills of conflicts, hunger, poverty, climate disruption, pollution threatening the world.

 Djanie underscored the power of global cooperation to tackle global problems, urging youths to join forces with the United Nations to create a sustainable, inclusive and peaceful world.

 During one of the panel sessions, the Coordinator, West Central African Division of Geoscience of Seventh Day Adventist, Dr.  Oluwole Oyedeji, said the management of the earth resources has always been of utmost concern to the UN.

Oyedeji said hence the emphasis on recycling and re-using, adding that efforts must be made to halt mismanagement of the earth’s fast disappearing resources.

On the essence of the conference, the coordinator, Dr. Jonathan Dangana said the conference was a global practice that the university decided to replicate in the country seven years ago to  build the leadership capacity of students and their confidence in getting involved in providing solutions to societal challenges.

Still reeling from the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, private school owners and other stakeholders have renewed calls for the Federal Government to address the multiple taxation threatening the existence of some schools. DAMOLA KOLA-DARE and VICTORIA AMADI report.

Private schools are groaning under multiple taxes imposed on them by various agencies of government across the states. These taxes include business premises, waste management agency fees, local government levies, emblems for school buses and signage or billboards, among others. They are paid every academic year to agencies sent to enforce them.

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The Nation gathered that schools are taxed based on their size. A school owner notes that inability to pay results in closure or court case.

 However, school owners and education stakeholders want constructive dialogue with governments at a time the nation’s economic outlook is bleak, coupled with the fuel subsidy removal, which has caused increase in prices of commodities and services.

 Tax holiday for private schools imperative

 President, Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Emmanuel Orji, urged government to consider tax holiday for private schools, which are poised to enhance national development by providing education to people.  He lamented that private schools were overburdened with the payment of multiple taxes and levies

He said: “Apart from the state government, the local government is also taking advantage of the fact that some schools are not approved and they tax them. A lot of unauthorised officials take unofficial taxes and levies from the schools. Touts also do that and the levies never get delivered to government. Apart from the Pay As You Earn, there are other taxes paid by schools. They are Business Premises, Development Levy, Private Returns, Parking Lot, Environment, Signage, Sewage Disposal, among others. You see Ministry of Health, Environment and Finance coming to take taxes from the schools. This is quite alarming.

“Government has said basic education is free and compulsory, and it lacks capacity to sole fund education and private individuals are trying to intervene. Hence, they should be embraced as assisting hands and collaborators instead of over-taxing them. It is an irony that people who are supporting government to provide education are over-taxed.  School owners give government private returns whether there is profit or not. If you don’t give private returns to the state government, then you are in for trouble. If you have strong negotiating power, you can pay between N50,000 and N1million . You just need to find your way around it. If you don’t pay, they take you to court or threaten you. Government needs to do something about that urgently because education all over the world is a social service.

 “I strongly advocate tax holiday for the fact that we have over 20 million out-of-school children. I know a number of schools during COVID-19 that closed down. And a lot of them are still battling hard to survive. Someone told me last week he can’t cope anymore and he would close down because of operational costs. It means children in that location would also be out of school. Government should help the schools so that the number of out-of-school children can drastically reduce or be totally eradicated. There should be special intervention from government. Teachers in the schools are doing it for passion and not for the money. Government should not stifle people who are willing to provide education. Government should consider tax holiday for all schools because a lot of them are closing down.”

 Constructive dialogue with government essential

 Deputy National President National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, urged private school owners to engage in constructive engagement with governments and reach a resolution. He noted that the issue of multiple taxes was raised among telecoms operators and government acted by harmonising the taxes they paid.

Ogunbanjo said: “It is just like the telecoms sector too; they complain of multiple taxation from government. The private schools should list it and engage in constructive dialogue with government. It is just coming to the fore. But that doesn’t mean they just have to increase tuition fees. They should try to engage government on the issue. Are they being taxed on the school premises or what?

 “They should list everything so we can see if is actually multiple. In the telecoms sector, local government, state and Federal take taxes. But later, it was harmonised; they engaged government and they now pay single tax. Only the state takes taxes from telecoms operators. So, until they engage in constructive dialogue with government, private schools owners cannot complain.”

 Such practice hindering growth of private schools

Proprietor of Supreme Crown Schools Ogun State, Oyafemi Stephen, an engineer, said unharmonised taxes and levies were hindering the progress and growth of private schools in the country and are also putting the cost of education in private schools beyond the reach of average Nigerians and low income earners.

He added that multiple taxation may be one of the reasons for the increase in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Stephen urged the government to harmonise and reduce tax burdens on private school owners.

He highlighted some of these taxes to include, local government emblems for school buses, hackney permit for school bus assistant, business premises levy, local government Stack Permit, radio and television levy, local government development levy, state government development levy, signage and billboard levies, waste management levy, examination monitoring fee charged by Ministry of Education, directors’ personal income tax, parking fee, community levy paid to host communities, and land use charge.

“Private school owners are contributing significantly to the development and growth of education in Nigeria. They are complementing government efforts by investing heavily in the provision of qualitative education; relevant infrastructure and competitive environment that drive innovations in science and technology as well as human resources. They are also helping the government to propel the growth of the economy by creating jobs, thereby reducing unemployment and crime rate.

“On the issue of taxation, I believe it is very important and mandatory for all liable citizens to pay taxes and levies to the government. Government relies on tax revenue to fund its operations and finance its development projects.

“However, private school owners are subjected to a series of taxes and levies by federal, states and local governments that have become a heavy burden. Various arms of government see private school owners as cash cows that must be milked at all costs.

 “In an attempt to improve internally generated revenue (IGR), all levels of government have strategised and come up with taxes and levies under different names. Such taxes and levies are imposed and sometimes brutally enforced on private school owners.

“The taxes and levies vary from state to state, especially at the local government level. For example, each private school owner must process and get approval to establish and operate any school.

“The approval is in stages: nursery, primary, and secondary. If a private school owner manages to survive and gets to the secondary school level, he or she will still need to be paying to renew the primary and secondary school approvals every year.

“The renewal fees, which are also reviewed annually, depend on the size of the school, the state or local government where the school is located. Actually, the taxes and levies are too many for one to remember and list accurately.

“Government should grant waivers on some of the taxes for private school owners to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and economic situation in the country to enable the children of average Nigerians and many out-of-school children to have access to good education in private schools and for our children to be able to prove their mettle at the global level.”

 Kwara school owners protest multiple taxation

Members of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Kwara State in January staged a peaceful protest over what they described as exorbitant and multiple taxation by the state Internal Revenue Service.

The group, which has about 3,000 members, marched to the Ministry of Education, Ilorin to register their grievances with the government.

The State President of NAPPS, Dr. Temitope Ajibola, noted that its members rejected recent charges, levies and taxes on private school owners and businesses in the state by the Kwara State Inland Revenue Service (KWIRS) because it was exploitative.

“We can’t meet up. That’s why we’re protesting. We are appealing to KWIRS not to pitch us against the state government,” he said.

The school proprietors said they were levied on over 11 different charges and taxes, urging the state government to prevail on KWIRS to only maintain the levy on renewal fee.

  Ajibola   stated that some of the recent charges and taxes include land charges, personal income tax, signage and advertisement fees, renewal fees on business premises, fire prevention/inspection fees, fees on school health, safety permit, pest control and fumigation certificate fees, among others.

He charged the state revenue agency to see them as partners in progress, considering the fact that they are employers of labour, saying that multiple taxation could lead to closure of many private schools in the state.

“We’re employers of labour to be commended and not to be condemned. We employ 1000s of teachers which the governments have no capacity to cater for. We run our schools with loan and we’re not rich people. Many of us are running at a loss. We are in need of government assistance. We are even finding it hard to pay teachers. Kwara State is a civil service economy. Many parents pay after salary payment,” he added.

Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State (ABUAD) has become a bastion of academic excellence and scholarship within 14 years of its existence. Many thought it would not survive. It has grown to be the much sought-after bride for academic partnership by ivy league universities, including the King’s College, United Kingdom. RASAQ IBRAHIM writes on the trajectory of the ivory tower.

In the 1960s, the Nigerian educational institutions were a Mecca of sorts for non-Nigerian students, who were in search of qualitative and functional education.

 Then, the country’s institutions were truly great citadels of learning, bastion of scientific and innovative scholarship because they offered quality education and also produced avalanche of world renowned scholars.

During the golden era when it was all- round tales of inspiring exploits in the education sector, the educational system was ranked with those in the developed countries as the products compete favourably with those produced in the western universities.

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But, unfortunately, the nation’s universities education that once prided itself as the bastion of educational excellence and scholarship has retrogressed and now slides tragically behind other regions of the world that once looked up to the country for leadership and to the extent that Nigerian students now migrate to those countries  in search of quality education.

It was in apparent response to the rot in the country’s educational system that foremost legal luminary and philanthropist, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), took up the gauntlet and established Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) after serving his tenure at University of Lagos as its pro-chancellor.

When ABUAD made its entry into the Nigeria’s education space in 2019 with the aim of transforming the Nigeria’s education sector, only very few saw hope in the horizon. The sceptics concern was predicated on the fact that the existing universities have failed to live up to their mandate.

But, ABUAD within the short period of its establishment has proved the pessimists wrong and has courageously trodden on an uncharted path with honours through its exploits in academic excellence, innovation, scholarships and research.

ABUAD, which began academic works on Monday, January 4, 2010, with about 240 students, today has over 8,000 students. Since then, its academic calendar has remained predictable and stable, making it possible for students the moment they are admitted, to forecast with precision, their year of graduation.

The institution, which is located on Ado-Ikare road, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, spreads on 130 hectares of land. Apart from the university, other ventures on the campus are world-class multi-system teaching hospital, farm covering 1,000 hectares of land, printing press, Inn, bakery, laundry and international school, among others.

ABUAD, being one of the foremost ivory towers in the world as acknowledged by Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, was founded on the vision to be one of the  leading global educational institutions focused on and dedicated to produce young men and women roundly equipped for higher performance.

Not only that, the institution was also established with the mission to provide world-class, qualitative and functional education by inculcating high moral and ethical values on students, preparing them for lifelong learning, service and fulfillment.

It has grown into a multi-billion naira empire providing jobs for thousands of Nigerians and offering quality education for students from the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory as well as other countries.

It operates a collegiate system and has five major colleges. They are the College of Engineering, College of Law, College of Medicine and Health Science, College of Sciences and College of Social  and Management Science. It offers pre-degree, graduate and post-graduate programmes.

The institution’s College of Engineering was described as the best equipped in Nigeria by the Nigerian Society of Engineers and reputed to be one of the largest in the world. In the same vein, ABUAD’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences and its Multi-system Teaching Hospital is second to none in the country.

The teaching hospital has state-of-the-art facilities that most public teaching hospitals in the country don’t have. It has eight modular theatres, CT-Scan and MRI scan machines and 16 kidney dialysis machines. The hospital has successfully carried out several kidney transplants, brains and hearts surgeries among other medical breakthroughs.

ABUAD, which was described as a model, reference-point and benchmark for other universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC), is fully grounded in entrepreneurial and agricultural practice, research and innovation, industrial skills and medicine with operation in line with global best practices. It prides itself as a 21st century learning institution with blended theoretical and practical skills imparted by first class scholars.

Since its establishment, the institution has grown in lips and bounds as a world-class institution, which has remained the dream of the founders of the university by making it a place of envy in terms of character and learning.

No wonder ABUAD has become a global brand of academic excellence and most sought after institution in the world as its students distinguished themselves and pride themselves as catalysts anywhere they go, especially in the ever-dynamic world.

 The catalogues of achievements recorded by ABUAD within 14 years of its creation have proven its commitments in building leaders and expanding the  frontiers of scholarship and cutting-edge research in the global space.

So, it was all praises recently when the 10-member delegation of the foremost United Kingdom King’s College  visited the institution to study the secret behind its giant feats and partnered ABUAD on transnational education.

The leader of the delegation who also doubles as the King’s College President, Prof.  Shitiij Kapur, was excited by the world class facilities in the university, which, he said, are among the best in the world.

He applauded Babalola for his foresight in establishing a university that competes favourably with Ivy League universities in promoting scholarship and cutting-edge research.

The King’s College President, Prof. Shitij Kapur said that ABUAD had established itself as a reputable tertiary institution by bridging the educational divide on global scale.

He described the achievements recorded by ABUAD in education and healthcare as unparalleled and  supersonic, saying he was amazed that the institution has over 8000 students within 10 years, a feat which took the King’s College more than a century to achieve.

The President of King’s College also described ABUAD Multi System Hospital as another unbelievable record set by the young citadel of learning.

He stated that his team came to learn from the ambition and mission of ABUAD that  resulted in the giant strides recorded within its short life-span.

“I am here today because we are launching the Aare Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education. And the centre will be based in London. It’s a privilege to see ABUAD University and my colleague and I are inspired by what we saw.

“We come here not to teach but to learn. What we came to learn is the ambition and mission of this university. I am surprised that it takes this university to go from zero to 8000 students in less than a decade. It took us centuries to build a world class hospital that we have and you have built one in less than a decade.

“So, I think the future is in your hands. They say humanity began from the continent of Africa and I think the century belongs here. We are here to embrace and we are here to contribute in whatever little way we can to your success.”

Earlier, the Vice President International Engagement and Service King’s College, Prof.  Funmi Olonisakin, said the centre would give opportunity for the brightest students in Africa.

“The centre will give the brightest of the people in Africa quality education. We are building a transnational partnership that will allow ABUAD to liaise with other universities in the world. It will enable ABUAD students access to the universities in the comfort of their campus.”

In his remarks, the Founder of ABUAD, Babalola, described the launching of the transnational Education Centre as an assurance that under-privileged people would have access to education.

He said: “This development is an assurance to me that under-privileged will access education and the future is bright. There are so many people who could not afford to go to school, like in my own case.

“This relationship we are having with the King’s College will give them the opportunity to learn without necessarily going to King’s College or ABUAD and yet they can become graduates, like I did.”

Babalola said the growing profile of ABUAD across the world was not a fluke but products of strategic planning, hard work, dedication, constituency, and commitment to set highest standard for education in the country.

“I am replicating how I conquered poverty and it is to me hope for now, hope for tomorrow, and hopes for the future.

“I am worried with the level of education in the country. That was why after I left UNILAG as a pro-chancellor, I established this university to be an example on how university should be run and it is because of the high standard which we have achieved that King’s College directly got in touch with us, we didn’t lobby for it to establish a centre for under-privileged people, not only in Nigeria but the whole of Africa.

“To me, there is hope for everybody, there is hope for the rich, the poor and for everybody who wants to work hard and that is what we have achieved today,” the ABUAD founder said.