Prof. Abel Olayinka, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), has called on the federal government to reconsider laws that prevent private universities from benefiting from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and for students in these institutions to be eligible for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Olayinka emphasised that while private universities are founded by individuals, they function as public entities that serve the broader public good.
He made this statement during the 17th Convocation Lecture of Lead City University, Ibadan, titled *”Resolving the Trilemma of Access, Affordability, and Quality in the Nigerian University System: A Role for the Entrepreneur.”
Olayinka argued that despite their private origins, these universities contribute significantly to the public education system and should be treated as such in terms of funding and support.
He said: “The students who attend such private institutions are assets to the country and they are expected to participate in the National Youth Service Corp scheme and contribute their quota to the nation’s socioeconomic development.”
He noted that private sector operatives in the education sector in the country should be encouraged to complement government efforts at providing quality education for its citizens.
“There is a mindset that private universities were established solely to make a profit and as such they should be left to their own devices to either survive or die. This may not tell a complete story.
“Education should be seen both as a public good and as a private good. The government has to be interested in the provision of education for its citizenry. However, the resources available to the government may not be enough to cater for the demand for quality education from the ever-growing population. It is in this context that the provision of education by the private sector should be contextualized.
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“The government has to encourage the private sector operatives in all possible ways to fill the wide gap between the demand for higher education and the supply side. It should be expected that private universities will recover their cost, provide employment, pay taxes to the government, and make a decent profit, to ensure sustainability
The University don also noted that the request for the federal government to extend the Student’s Loan Scheme to students in private universities was borne out of the fact that not all students in private universities are from rich homes
Earlier the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Kabir Adeyemi in his welcome address, described the topic of the lecture, as timely and relevant, as it aims to speak to the heart of the challenges that universities across the nation grapple with daily.