Against the backdrop of the rush for acquisition of university education in foreign countries by children of the rich, the Senate yesterday declared that although the trend was detrimental to the growth of “our own universities, it cannot be outlawed.”
Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Jubrin Barau, who stated this while reacting to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), said “outlawing such practice would amount to wanting to turn Nigeria to an Island unto itself which is impossible.”
He said: “Outlawing such a practice has never been done in any part of the world, meaning that no matter how detrimental it may be to our own University system or standard, it has to continue and be embraced by those who can afford it.
“What the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly can do and in fact, have been doing, is to continue collaborating with the executive and in particular, relevant bodies regulating our education sector, to put it in proper shape as a way of making our Universities more attractive to Nigerians at home and even those abroad.”
