By Olayinka Oyegbile
A two-day international conference on Private Universities in Africa is to begin on Thursday, January 6 to Friday, January 7, 2021, at the Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin and the Carnegie Corporation, New York, the two-day conference is to examine the idea of private universities on the continent.
A statement by the convener, Prof Toyin Falola, a distinguished Professor of History and Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, said the conference under the theme ‘Partnering for Greatness: Rethinking university education in Africa,’ is the first in regional convergence on the impact of private universities on public universities in Africa.
He said in a statement that “The project seeks to understand the impacts of private universities on public universities in Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana through commissioned research and two regional stakeholders convening in Nigeria and Kenya. Between now and August 2022.”
The conference would host over a hundred University administrators and scholars while also coordinating country researchers to conduct studies on five African countries — South Africa, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria, and Uganda.
Among many scholars billed to attend are Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr Dele Ashiru, University of Lagos, Prof. Ayo Olukotun, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr Wahab Azeez, Provost, Federal College of Education, Technical, Lagos. Others are Prof. Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso, Babcock University, Prof. Femi Mimiko, Obafemi Awolowo University, Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof. Abdul Rasheed N’Allah, Chancellor, Lead City University, Prof. Jide Owoeye, Prof. Peter Wekesa (Kenya), Prof. John Mary Kanyamurwa (Uganda), Dr George Bob, (Ghana) and Dr. Olayinka Oyegbile, a journalist and lecturer at Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos.
