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Give private universities access to TETFund – Bellstech Vice-Chancellor

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Samuel Awoyinfa, Abeokuta

The Vice-Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, Prof. Oludele Ojediran, has said that the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Private Universities will continue to push until private universities in the country also begin to benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust fund.

Ojediran said this on Friday while fielding questions during a press conference held to herald the institution’s ninth convocation ceremony.

Tetfund is a scheme established by the Federal Government in 2011 to disburse, manage and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions in the country.

He argued that it was erroneous for some people to regard private varsities as profit-making ventures, adding that they should be seen as contributing to the development of the country by producing qualified manpower.

Ojediran said that, based on the positive contribution to the development of the country, private varsities should also benefit from the Tetfund to enable them to carry out research which would assist in solving societal problems.

He said, “The Committee of Vice-chancellors of Private Universities has continued to make a case for private universities to also benefit from the fund. Currently it is only public higher institutions that are benefitting.

“But we have met the National Assembly on the need to amend the TetFund bill, so as to accommodate private higher institutions too.

“I say this because, students from private universities contribute to the development of the country. Private universities needed to be assisted to meet their mandate on research.”

Ojediran also said that the National Universities Commission had given the Bellstech the nod to run Civil Engineering at undergraduate level while it could also run Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Building Services Engineering, among others, at postgraduate level.

He further stated that for the 2016/2017 academic session, a total of 384 would be graduating from its undergraduate programmes, while 57 would be graduating from postgraduate programmes.

He said they were all from across the four colleges in the institution: College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Management Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering.

Giving the breakdown of the results, he said 37 got first class, 128 students were in the second class upper grade while 152 were in the second class lower.

Sixty-seven got third class.

He said a female student, Miss Juan Stephen, topped the graduating set of 2016/2017, by having a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.97 out of 5 points.

He disclosed that Juan graduated from the Accounting Department.

He also disclosed that the management had concluded arrangements to introduce some new courses, which were Bachelors of Technology in Information and Media Technology, and Theatre and Arts Technology, which, he said, “It is the initiative of the theatre academy of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.”

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