"Private Universities Are Not Dumping Ground For Intellectually Deficient Students

Nigeria's private universities do not sell first class grades and are not a "dumping ground" for the intellectually deficient students who did not manage to secure admission to the nation's public tertiary institutions, the Vice-Chancellor of the Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Kehinde Okeleye, says.

The Vice-Chancellor, speaking yesterday in Abeokuta, was responding to the allegations that many of the private universities offered First Class grades to the children of the rich. Okeleye described such allegations against private institutions as "unfounded."


He explained that the lack of necessary infrastructure and facilities in public universities had made learning in such institutions not conducive for their students.

According to him, this inadequacy has hindered students in public universities not to be able to perform like their counterparts in the private schools.

He said, "I want to say categorically that it is a fallacy for any professor to say that private universities sell grades. Given his experience in academics, he should know that there is no way that a proprietor or anybody can dictate to a university what number of First Class or Second Class that you must produce because a student, undergoing a degree course, is not taught by just one person.

"He has to do so many courses and the records are there. If you are not doing well from 100 levels, you cannot change your poor grade when you get to the final year. It is not possible, that was why I said it is a fallacy.
"So private universities don’t sell certificates or grades; what sells for them is stability in calendar and facilities.

“Again, what goes for us is discipline. Our curriculum and our calendar are very stable. When our students resume they know when to finish and what that means is that students and members of staff work steadily to finish on schedule."

On the allegation that private universities have become a dumping ground for candidates who could not secure admission to the public universities, Okeleye said, "There is a national minimum standard that is made annually. So any student, who makes it, qualifies to go to any university."

Punch Nigeria