Gombe, Nigeria — The Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Yahaya, justified the recent 120 per cent increment announced by the Gombe State University on Thursday, saying that it was necessary for the development of the institution.
Yahaya stated this in his address during the swearing-in of governing councils of higher institutions, boards of state-owned companies, and pilgrimage boards of Christians and Muslims at the Banquet Hall of the Government House.
He said, “I task you (board chairmen) to work hard, particularly with Gombe State University. The new pro-chancellor and chairman of the council happen to be seasoned administrators; the issues we had, which are avoidable, should not be repeated again. We have done the needful and learnt from our mistakes.
“I want to urge the parents and guardians: Gombe State University is making deliberate efforts to ensure education gets to us, but it seems people have forgotten that out there; Maiduguri, Yola, and Bauchi for courses we can’t have here and for courses available here we should encourage our children to utilise the opportunity.
“We emphasise more basic education and secondary school education. Look at Gombe State University as supporting what the Federal Government is doing because the responsibility of the state and local governments is to give education, healthcare, and social welfare at the basics.
“Tertiary education is very expensive; thank God we have private universities. We shouldn’t consider any investment in education to be a waste. Let’s see how to join hands with federal, state, and local governments to ensure our people get education from basic through secondary and up to the tertiary level.”
Justifying the hike, Yahaya added that GSU authorities only sought means of augmenting the government’s meagre funding, owing to increased demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
“I have heard the complaints of students about the recent increase in school fees, but it didn’t stop the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other unions from going on strike because it wanted more funding to GSU, and for that, we had to double the allocation.
“As of today, none of the universities within the North-East subregion has as much as what we are giving to Gombe State University.
“There are other windows; that doesn’t mean the university should not look within and see how much it can raise to keep the standard so that our standards can be the best in order to compete with whoever. We must do the needful; nothing was done to stop anybody from getting tertiary education,” he said.
Proceeding, Yahaya urged students, especially indigent ones, to access the Federal Government’s facility to augment their pay, adding,
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu, has introduced the students’ loan; it’s a win-win; if you apply and pay the university, the school can develop. So, see how to access the loan and get any support from anywhere.
“The Federal Government, despite being the owner of all tertiary institutions except private and state-owned universities, could not help; even today what the Federal University of Kashere charges is by far what Gombe State University is charging, and the federal government is the main source.”
Speaking on behalf of the recently inaugurated boards, the chairperson board of the College of Legal Studies Nafada, Rep Aishatu Jibrin, pledged the appointees’ best, adding;
“We will give our best in moving the institutions to greater heights. We pledge our loyalty to give our best to add greater value to the quality of our students.”
Margret Oshinowo | February 21, 2025
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