Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado- Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, has said that the university reduced tuition fees for students studying agriculture by 50 per cent, as part of efforts to encourage them to takeup the course.
Babalola said: “When we observed that not many students are interested in agriculture, we set up ABUAD Agricultural Agency, whereby apart from making food available we give our students who graduate in agriculture money to start their own businesses, instead of looking for jobs that are in short supply.”
He disclosed this yesterday in Ado-Ekiti at the opening of the five-day United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, 2014 Regional Retreat in the university.
Babalola, who said the university took pride in provision of qualitative and functional education, added that it had buoyed up educational standard and quality through addition of four new programmes to the existing Nigerian universities’ curriculum and improved teaching methods.
According to him, the objectives of the UNESCO retreat were apt in view of the need for the international agency to enhance its visibility; knowledge and management; and formulation of strategy for resource management.
He said: “I therefore suggest that strategies adopted by the UNESCO after this retreat should be based on full integration of all the stakeholders necessary for its success.
“I have no doubt that UNESCO is already thinking in this direction, considering its strategic alliance with progressive institutions in Nigeria and other countries such as ABUAD,” Babalola said.
The UNESCO Regional Office Director, Prof Hassana Alidou, said UNESCO had begun building partnerships with academia and other stakeholders. She noted: “Our main goal is to promote sustainable peace in the region through education, natural sciences, culture, communication, and the human and social sciences.”
Alidou described the retreat at ABUAD “as a launchpad for increased partnerships in research and innovation into what works and good practices that we can scale up in the region.”
She congratulated Babalola for the university, which she described as a “worldclass investment,” adding: “You have set a good record which should be emulated by succeeding generations. Investment in education is an investment in our future
0 Response to "Why ABUAD reduced agric students’ fees by half"
Post a Comment