NUC Rules Out Take-Off Grants For UniJos

Representative of President of Nigeria, Prof. Julius Okojie; Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon; Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Jos, Chief Don Etiebet at the 40th Anniversary of the university’s convocation in Jos on Saturday. Photo NAN

The University of Jos (UniJos) has not received any take-off grant since its establishment 40 years ago, and this has impeded its growth, the Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Don Etiebet, has said. But the National Universities Commission (NUC) has said the institution had benefitted enough from other interventions. 

“It is worthy to note that 40 years after establishment, this university is yet to get  take-off grants,” Etiebet, a former petroleum minister, said at the joint 27th/28th convocation of the institution and its 40th anniversary at the weekend.

He appealed to the federal government to revisit the issue of take-off grants to the university which he said had recorded giant strides in research and other programmes, although at great cost due to funding difficulties.

Daily Trust report continues:

The vice chancellor said although it had created space amidst scarcity, UniJos needed funding to step up development.

Speaking at the convocation, the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, advised the university to give up hopes on accessing take-off grants, saying the issue had been overtaken by certain interventions which UniJos and other universities with peculiar problems had benefitted from.

“The issue of take-off grants has been debated over time. A university at 40 cannot be asking for take-off grants,” Professor Okojie said. “What has government done through TETFUND to have instituted what we call a Special Impact Intervention? Those universities have received that, I think University of Jos has done that too. I want to advise universities against multi-campus system. When you have many campuses, you spread your resources around and they don’t make much impact”, he added.

Former Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon, said in his remarks that the vision for the establishment of the university by his administration had been achieved.

“Today, UniJos is one of the excellent universities in Nigeria”, he said.

Over 150,000 students graduated from the university in the past 40 years, with 16,543 graduates rolling out in last weekend’s convocation out of which 145 bagged PhDs according to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Hayward Babale Mafuyai.

UniJos was established under the administration of retired General Yakubu Gowon in 1975.