Kogi gets provisional licence for new varsity

Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

 

THE National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted provisional licence to Kogi State to establish a state-owned university.

Governor Yahaya Bello, who received the licence on Tuesday from the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said the institution – Confluence University of Science and Technology, will be located in Osara.

With the license, Nigeria now has 50th state-owned universities.

Prof. Rasheed said the approval was given to deepen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), including research, medical and allied courses in the country.

He said: “Without education none of us will be here today. This will be a specialised university, one that will be focused specifically on courses that will accelerate Nigeria’s economic growth and measure up in skills in the 21st century.”

Bello said the university was conceived primarily to train graduates who would harness the vast natural resources the state is endowed with.

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“Confluence was conceived to be a Specialised University of Science and Technology because we know the importance of education, without education we won’t be gathered here today.

“Ours will be a very functional university because it will put our knowledge to the test, you all know that we are quick in exporting our natural resources without adding real value, rather than sitting down to look at how we can develop our own technology, this university will exist to bridge that gap and contribute to the general wellbeing of Nigeria.”