The Vice Chancellor of Kogi State University (KSU) Kabba, Professor Kehinde Eniola, has expressed the institution’s desire to partner with interested investors, corporate organisations, and individuals for the construction of hostel facilities for students.
Prof. Eniola, who disclosed this at the second matriculation of the university in Kabba, noted that the university is matriculating 1,060 students across all faculties for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Professor Eniola explained that the project, through the Public Private Partnership (PPP), would be based on build-operate-transfer to ameliorate the accommodation problem in the institution and also ensure probity and accountability.
He noted that the high cost of living and the rapid increase in the student population have resulted in the high cost of accommodation around the university community.
The Vice Chancellor emphasised the need for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to assist the university with infrastructural projects, noting that the existing structures were inherited from the Kogi State College of Technical Education.
According to him, the state government has invested immensely in the institution’s infrastructure, citing many ongoing projects geared towards positioning it for academic excellence.
While calling for homegrown solutions to national issues, the Vice Chancellor urged TETFund to devote more funds to local training, research, and infrastructural facilities, which will in no small measure help the country attain its set goals.
He said though he’s not averse to improving academic staff training and development outside the country, he noted that “most times the foreign training is not meeting the needs to resolve the challenges, thereby rendering the whole efforts useless.”
The VC, however, objected to the proposed scrapping of TETFund by the federal government, saying it would spell doom for tertiary institutions in the country, noting that the impact of TETFund in various institutions of higher learning cannot be overemphasised.
He expressed deep appreciation to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for demonstrating genuine commitment and strong dedication to the growth and development of the university.
He also acknowledged the tremendous contributions and support of former Governor Yahaya Bello in ensuring that the dream was made manifest and well-grounded.
He assured that the university will continue to institutionalise its relevance and civic engagements in its quest to produce students who will make remarkable contributions to the growth of Kogi State in particular and Nigeria in general.
The Vice Chancellor made a passionate appeal to philanthropic individuals and corporate organisations, both within and outside the state, to collaborate with the government in making education accessible to all.
He emphasised that the financial burden of funding education was too immense for the government alone to bear and that collective support was essential to ensure the sustainability and success of educational initiatives.
He charged students to leverage and explore the National Education Loan Fund (Nelfund) for their tuition fees and also to ease their financial burdens.
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