Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has said his administration would not discriminate between public and private educational institutions in the quest of ensuring quality education for Deltans.
Speaking at the weekend during the first convocation ceremony of Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State, the Governor said his administration was committed to ensuring quality education in both public and private educational institutions in the state in line with the Human Capital Development agenda of his administration.
According to the Governor, his administration is ensuring that good learning environment was provided for students both in private and public educational institutions, disclosing that proper monitoring of schools in the state was being carried out by government officials while incentives were also being provided by the Federal and State government agencies to ensure that infrastructure are provided for the institutions.
He noted that apart from direct intervention from the state, the Delta State Oil Producing Communities Development Commission (DESOPADEC) is intervening in the areas of providing physical structures in the institutions, reiterating that no stone would be left unturned to ensuring that quality and affordable education was achieved in the state.
Dr Uduaghan observed that there were on-going projects being executed by the DESOPADEC in the University assuring that such projects would be completed in record time to ensure that they are put into use immediately.
“We are also giving automatic scholarship to first class graduate students for their post-graduate studies in any part of the world, among others” the Governor said, adding that many Deltans have benefitted from the scheme.
The Governor gave automatic post-graduate scholarship to two best graduating students of WDU which will enable them to study in any part of the world and they will be given N5 million each annually till they attain their doctoral degrees.
“We are supporting Novena University financially and are also going to support, Western Delta University financially”, the Governor said, reiterating that students should desist from engaging in any form of cultism.
According to him, “once you go into cultism, you have lost it in life,” adding that it was good that no case of cultism has been reported at Western Delta University.
He observed that parents have a lot of roles to play in the upbringing of their children, stating that children should not only be educated at school but should also be properly brought up by their parents.
Governor Uduaghan lauded the good mutual relationship that exists between the University and Oghara community and called for its sustenance.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Peter G. Hugbo charged the graduating students to think positively and “fly the flag of your University with pride! There is nothing like a new University or an old University, public or private in terms of quality and standards demanded by the regulatory bodies.”
“A University is a University, you should not have a low self esteem of yourself because your University is a private University or it is a young University,” the VC said, stating, “I say to you, fly high! And do what is morally and ethically right and just to all.”
A member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. John Nani said the convocation signals the fact that the University has come to stay, emphasizing that it was important that people should always work towards leaving positive legacies behind.
The Special Assistant to Governor Uduaghan on Education Monitoring, Mrs Rhoda Ikede said the coming of private Universities in the state is a welcome development as government cannot do it alone, adding, “our Governor loves education and what we are seeing is part of the three-point agenda of the state administration”.
