The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu said he has received the report on the proposed ICT university and pledged to study it and ensure speedy implementation of the recommendations.
The report which was submitted by the 31- member committee was meant to draw up modalities for the establishment of the ICT University in Abuja.
Just as planned, in about three weeks the ministry would come out with a memorandum to ensure the commencement of the university in September, the minister said.
According to him, the university will be a legacy and hopes that posterity will be on the side of everyone that participated in the planning.
He said that the university would be funded by the private sector, while government would provide part of the infrastructure.
”The university will be funded by through PPP arrangement, the Federal Government only provides the infrastructure; we should be able to utilise the funds from the private sector to run it.
”In doing this, emphasis will be placed on financing and entrepreneurship when selecting those that will partner with government on the establishment,’’ he said.
Shittu said that someone with an in-depth knowledge of ICT and with entrepreneurial skill, would be selected as the vice-chancellor of the school.
The aim, he said, was to produce graduates that would have all the right skills to be employers of labour rather than job seekers.
He assured the committee that only veterans in the sector would be hired as lecturers to provide the right knowledge to students.
He added that members of the committee who are interested should not hesitate to indicate their interest.
The minister said that he hoped that state governments would sponsor their indigenes to the university to get the specialised training for the progress of their states.
NAN reports that earlier, Prof. Julius Okojie, Chairman of the planning and implementation committee said the university would have six campuses with three colleges (faculties).
According to him, these colleges will consist of Information Technology, Applied Technology and Society and Security Technology.
He said he was optimistic that the university would play a major role in the development of innovation as it would be a research institution.
He called on the government to engage lecturers who are well grounded in the sector, adding that government should endeavour to retain lecturers that had been trained by the school.
The former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission also called for the establishment of an ICT Museum as a training ground for students on ICT development in the country.
The Federal Government on June 1, inaugurated an implementation committee to facilitate the establishment of the proposed Information Communication Technology (ICT) University of Nigeria.
The Committee, made up of experts in the sector, both public and private sector, were given six weeks to come up with a workable report on the establishment of the university.
Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam
