The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has called the spread of substandard and mushroom universities the most serious threat to quality education in the country.
He encouraged the federal government to close such universities immediately, otherwise, the country’s educational system would continue to deteriorate.
Babalola remarked this in Ado-Ekiti when receiving a fellowship from King’s College, London, for his revolutionary contributions to education and society.
The legal luminary stated that the National Universities Commission (NUC) should shine a light on all institutions and centres that do not adhere to the commission’s established norms and rules.
Babalola labelled such institutions as ‘major weapons’ designed to undermine quality and functionality in Nigerian education.
“The biggest menace facing quality education today, especially in Nigeria and across Africa, is the proliferation of mushroom, satellite institutions and campuses, including study centres that have long deviated from their original conceptualisation and intent.
“What we expect is for the National University Commission (NUC) to close down mushroom universities. Many such institutions had been pronounced illegal by authorities, but which are still operating and even commenced operations without the permission of NUC,” he said.
While recalling that the NUC once published the names of such institutions, Babalola wondered why the owners of such illegal universities were not arrested and the institutions closed down.
Earlier, the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, lauded the giant strides achieved by Babalola in the areas of medicine, law, invention, and sciences.
The governor, who was represented by the newly appointed Head of Service, Folakemi Olomojobi, said Babalola’s footprints across all sectors had made him the father of the state. He noted that his uncommon humanity and impact had also ranked him higher, against all odds.
On her part, the Vice President of International Engagement and Service of King’s College London, Funmi Olonisakin, said the fellowship award conferred on Babalola was in recognition of his transformative contributions to society.