From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The federal government has denied media reports indicating that it is privatising government-owned tertiary institutions, particularly universities.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, debunked the media reports at a quarterly performance meeting with heads of agencies, parastatals, and directors of the Ministry in Abuja on Tuesday.
He emphasised that the periodic meeting was a platform to assess progress, review the implementation of key policies, and reaffirm the commitment to overcoming challenges.
He insisted that the information on the privatisation of government-owned institutions is untrue and should be disregarded. “The government believes in the provision of government-owned tertiary institutions and has not shied away from the support that the government needs from the private sector.
“For decades now, the private sector has played a major role in the provision of tertiary education in Nigeria, and there are more private universities in Nigeria than public universities combined.
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“What the government has done is to open up the tertiary education level, particularly the universities, for global competitiveness, which has allowed those who operate in this area at the international level to come into the country and set up institutions that are open for collaboration with our local universities under the guidelines of what is called transnational education.”
He appreciated the participation of the top management staff of the Ministry and added, “This meeting is very important because it constitutes the policy-making arm of the Ministry and also the implementation arm in many ways because the heads of agencies are directly involved in the implementation of most of the policies the government mandates for the ministries.
“If we get it right at the Ministry of Education, it will be better for the rest of the country because it is the manpower hub of the country and the ministry responsible for producing the leadership and manpower for the country. Since the inception of this government, the President has made it clear that the Ministry is one of the core mandates of the government, hence the support we have enjoyed.”
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, in his submissions, also noted the importance of the quarterly review meeting, adding that education must be earned by character, knowledge, and skills.
He said, “We must champion a campaign that would produce graduates that would survive and fit into the 21st century, and this is also the direction of the African Union, as the year is declared the year of education so that we can have an education that can guarantee experiences in lifelong learning for Nigerians to take their rightful place in the comity of nations.”