Leadership reports that Prof. Rasheed Jimoh, Vice Chancellor of Muhammad Kamalud-Deen University in Ilorin, Kwara State, has advocated for the inclusion of private universities in Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) schemes to help mitigate financial constraints faced by these institutions.

Prof. Jimoh noted in his interview that extending TETFund support to private universities would not only enhance financial stability but also promote universal education, especially as public universities cannot meet the admission demands of all prospective students.

He said though TETFund intervention in the private universities might not be at par with what obtains in their public counterparts, accommodating them as beneficiaries would create a sense of belonging.

He said, “This is more of a policy issue. When you look at education, we are talking of universal access to education, either private or public university. It is Nigerians that are in these universities, and in order to create access to universal education and because public universities won’t be able to deliver universal education, the government had to open up the establishment of private universities.”

Jimoh added that the government can give a fraction of what goes to public institutions to the private ones, stressing that, “there is nothing stopping the government from doing a review of its policy to allow, even if not at par, certain developmental interventions should go to private universities.

“If you are giving public institutions, like a N100 million, maybe you give a N20 million project intervention to private universities. It might not be at par, but something needs to be done,” he said.

“The number of private institutions surpasses even the number of public institutions. So, definitely, I’m sure the government is thinking on what to do and the pressure groups are also talking to the government on this.

“I also think vice chancellors of private universities are discussing this. I’m sure it has reached an appreciable level and I want to believe that something will be done in no distant time about that”, he said.