By David Olalekan.
The Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, Prof. Ademola Tayo has described the business environment under which private universities operate in Nigeria as “unfriendly and discouraging.”
Prof. Tayo, in an interview with Premium Times, lamented that the institution expends between N80 and N85 million monthly on power supply, which amounts to about N1 billion annually.
He hinged the exorbitant cost of education in private institutions on multiple taxations, high foreign exchange rates, high interest rates, high inflation, policy inconsistency, and poor infrastructural facilities such as power, water, among others.
The VC also disclosed that the university invested heavily on an independent power project, which generates 4.5 megawatts of electricity in an effort to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
He added that the institution could not afford to offer poor quality of education.
“It is true that the cost of education is high but ironically, the cost of ignorance is far higher. As an academic institution that is committed to maintaining standards set by Nigeria and the Seventh Day Adventist Church worldwide, Babcock University cannot afford to offer poor quality of education”, Prof. Tayo said.
It was also gathered that Babcock University, located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, was the first private university to enroll graduates for the national youth service scheme.
According to the Vice Chancellor, the institution’s teaching hospital has successfully conducted over 300 open heart surgeries.
“We started with 160 students, and we also became the first private university to enroll graduates for the national youth service scheme. Today, we are a force to reckon with not just in Africa but globally.
“With our partnership with America-based Tristate Cardiovascular Institute, our teaching hospital has successfully conducted more than 300 open heart surgeries and has produced the first set of cardiovascular interventionists trained in Nigeria, who performed a procedure known as cardiac catherisation”, he stated.