Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has said that the state government places premium on education to keep students on track and focused.
The Governor stated this on Monday when officials of the National Universities Commission (NUC), led by its Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Chris Maiyaki, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Asaba.
He thanked the NUC for approving three new universities for the state.
Oborevwori said the establishment of the new universities was justified, hence the House of Assembly, then presided over by him, never wasted time in passing the bills.
“When we received the bill for the three universities, we looked at the justifications for three universities and we found out that they had the staff and infrastructure.
“They had subvention, but the students were not there because the NCE programmes were no longer attractive to them.
“Where we had about 900 staff in the then College of Education, Agbor, you could not even find 1,000 students, and what we provide there is enough to run a full-fledged university.
“The money used in running the college is also the same thing to run Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma where I graduated, and they have over 15,000 students, yet we can’t get even 1,000 at the College of Education, Agbor”, he said.
The Governor added, “We didn’t waste time to approve the bill. Moreover, then, we had over 25,000 Delta State candidates that passed JAMB and were qualified for university education, but the universities couldn’t admit more than 5,000.
“So what happens to the remaining 20,000 students? They have to wait for another year again?
“And we said no, it’s a very brilliant idea to upgrade three existing higher institutions into full-fledged universities and we had to pass the bills.
“I must commend NUC for approving the three universities for Delta State. I want to assure you that as a government, we will continue to provide whatever it takes to make the universities great”.
Oborevwori said only a valuable education would help to reduce crime, while pledging his administration’s resolve to ensure adequate staffing and infrastructure provision for the universities.
“Delta is peaceful and everywhere is beautiful, but if you see any road that is not good in Delta, just know that it is a federal road.
“We are taking care of our state roads and even intervening in some federal roads like the over 147km Ughelli/ Asaba Road dualisation project which I am very sure would be completed by next year”, he said.
Earlier, the Acting Executive Secretary of NUC, Maiyaki, lauded Delta government for its contributions to sustainable educational development in the state and country.
He explained that the visit was coming at a time when the call for the reinvention of higher education system was “getting louder and louder by the day”.
He congratulated the state government for being education-friendly and for being the state with the highest number of state-owned universities in the country.
“Your Excellency, the information we have is that the university we are visiting was founded when you were the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
“It was during your time that having appended your signature, we accepted and granted licences to the University of Delta, Agbor, the Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro and the Dennis Osadebay University, Anwai-Asaba”, he said.
He said the NUC was vested by law with the vital and strategic responsibility of orderly development of university education, the general coordination and regulation of the sub-sector.
He said the visit was crucial and pivotal because the result would enable the University to admit students into the programmes visited.
“We carry out that vital assignment through the monitoring of implementation of minimum standards, licence of private universities, conducting resource verification and accreditation of courses among others.
“We are here to carry out resource verification of academic programmes at the University of Delta, Agbor, to ascertain the quality and the quantity of the physical facilities, the human resources, the ICT deployments.
“To also ascertain the learning resources in hard and soft copies and of course the atmosphere for learning.
“This visit is crucial and very pivotal because the result emanating from this visit will enable the University admit students into the programmes we have visited”, he said.
Maiyaki said the State Government’s sustained support to the universities would be a legacy and a collective benefit to be shared for the posterity of the state.
“We are here to conduct resource verification for Basic Medical Sciences and Medicine, Law, Education, Agricultural Economics and if you look at the profile of these programmes, they are very capital intensive.
“We congratulate you and wish you resounding success as you embark on your programmes and policies that you collectively work to reposition Delta on the path of continuous progress”, Maiyaki said.