Partnership good for infrastructure financing in varsities–Dons
April 22, 2014 by Sodiq Oyeleke
Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Bamitale Omole
| credits: omikoawa.blogspot.com
| credits: omikoawa.blogspot.com
The
Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State,
Prof. Bamitale Omole, and the Secretary-General of the Committee of
Vice-Chancellors, Prof. Michael Faborode, have canvassed the need for a
strong public-private-partnership for the nation’s universities.
Such an initiative, they said, would enhance infrastructure development in the universities.
They spoke at a lecture organised by the Faculty of Environmental Design and Management of the OAU.
Delivering a paper on ‘Professionals, PPP
and Project Management in the Nigerian Universities’, Faborode, a
former OAU VC, explained that private sector involvement in education
was key to sustaining and improving infrastructural development in the
university system.
He said, “Apart from the fact that it
reduces financial burden, PPP enables the public sector to harness the
expertise and efficiency of the private sector. The OAU Student Village
is a good example of where the university has adopted the classical type
of PPP. With the current student population and attitude of government
to hostel provision, there is no way the university can accommodate all
the students without partnership.
“PPP needs an effective mechanism of
project management to make it successful. I enjoin all stakeholders in
the university management to see possibility in the inevitable prospect
of PPP.”
Omole stressed the importance of PPP, wondering why many Nigerian universities have yet to adopt it.
According to him, the initiative is
already flourishing in the education sector in the developed countries
with all its accompanying benefits.
Urging governments at all levels to
provide the right environment for partnership, he adds, “I appeal to
governments to create incentives that will significantly encourage the
private sector to collaborate adequately with the universities in order
to tackle the problem of underfunding in the Nigerian universities.”
Also, the Dean, Faculty of EDM, Prof.
Tajudeen Aluko, said the lecture was to deepen the academic discourse on
PPP and how it could help the universities to grow.
According to him, despite the opportunities via the PPP, the nation’s universities have not exploited fully the initiative.
The guest lecturer and Deputy Governor of
Kebbi State, Ibrahim Aliyu, urged the universities to explore the
abundant opportunities in tourism.
The deputy governor, represented by the
Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Commerce, Trade and
Industry, Dr. Issa Muhammed, noted that the effects of poor
infrastructure on the growth of tourism should not discourage the
universities from seeking loftier academic glory.
http://www.punchng.com/education/partnership-good-for-infrastructure-financing-in-varsities-dons/
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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