Fountain University Moves To Expand Courses, Partners US Institution, Others

By Nofisat Marindoti

Fountain University, Osogbo, State of Osun, has partnered Duke University, a North Carolina, United States of America (USA), based institution, on the transfer of technologies and equipments for the take off of its medical programme as part of measures to further increase the number of courses it offers and serve one of its core purposes.

The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Amidu Olalekan Sanni disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Other newly appointed principal officers include Mrs Kikelomo Wasilah as the Registrar, Mrs Silifat Ayinke, Bursar, Dr. Abdulsalam Abiodun, Deputy University Librarian and Engr. Abdulsemiu Idowu, Deputy Director, Works and Physical Planning Unit.

According to the new VC, Fountain university has also secured another partnership with Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia to make the institution centre for Open and Distance Learning Programme.

The vice chancellor said one of the programmes that would be offered by the centre is Diploma programme in Arabic, Islamic and International Studies.

According to him, the institution would meet proprietors of Arabic schools across the state and impress the need to teach their students with uniform curriculum to make them eligible for the Diploma programme.

While identifying funding as a major challenge for the institution, Sanni urged the federal government to assist private universities through provision of infrastructural and humanitarian supports.

Although the VC noted the recent declaration by President Mohammad Buhari that federal government was not ready to fund private universities in the country, he however urged the president to find means of assisting private university operators since they are playing a critical role of educating the populace.

On his plans to address the challenge of funding facing the institution, Sanni said: “we are looking inward to generate funds that can be used for our university. The federal government should consider infrastructural and humanitarian supports, because graduates produced from private universities are also Nigerians.

“With Harvard University in US and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, less than 20 per cent of their funding comes from the government.

“They get funding from grants, donations from private organisations. We are looking inward to generate funds that can be used for our university. We are thinking of Fountain University Ventures to generate funds. Our aim is to make the University world class and we are working assiduously towards achieving this.”

The Vice Chancellor thereby solicited for the support of the media in projecting the University to the outside world.

This is even as he cleared the air on the insinuations that the university is meant for Muslim students alone, adding that the school is open to people of all Faiths.