From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Governing Council of the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) has appealed to the Federal Government to convert the NMC to a National University of Mathematical Sciences (NUMS).
The Council led by the Chairman, Prof. Edna Njoku, said that such intervention will help the Centre play its pivotal roles in increasing and improving both the quality and quantity of manpower in its area of academic specialization.
The Council said it will intensify the push and all the necessary lobbies to ensure the realization of the dream as soon as possible.
It further noted that the Centre, which was established alongside universities like the University of Abuja, lacks behind in the area of infrastructural development, and therefore commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for the gesture of including the Centre in Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFUND) initiative and activities.
Meanwhile, the Council members, at the end of its first quarterly meeting at NMC’s permanent site in Sheda Kwali, Abuja, pledged to ensure the Centre continues to provide academic leadership in mathematics and mathematical Sciences.
The Chairman promised to complement the effort of the Director General of the Centre, Prof. Promise Mebine, in ensuring that the Centre, alongside other Inter University Centres, were enlisted in TETFund intervention and initiative, stressing that Mathematics is the core and engine of the growth and development of any nation.
She, however, challenged the government to prioritize the funding of the Centre in the national budget, thereby ensuring the development of infrastructure to attract the best scientists from anywhere in the world.