President Bola Tinubu said his administration was working towards the introduction of a policy that will grant full university autonomy.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, represented President Tinubu when he made this statement in Benin during the 48th convocation of the University of Benin.
He said he was convinced that varsity autonomy would enhance the quality of university education.
“University autonomy transfers responsibility and performance directly to the individual institution. This administration believes that this is the right step in the right direction,” he said.
The president said he was committed to repositioning tertiary institutions and the education sector for excellent service delivery.
“Our administration is poised to change the narrative of higher education for the better and to place the institution of higher learning on a pedestal that would enable them to compete with their counterparts across the world,” he said.
The Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, assured that the institution’s first-class graduates of Edo origin would be offered automatic employment in the state’s civil and public service.
The chancellor of the institution, Prof. James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, Tor Tiv V, listed inadequate funding, poor research opportunities, inadequate academic staff, inadequate infrastructure, and corruption as some of the challenges bedevilling the institution.