Funding for 2 new vasities in 2022 budget, take-off September — Lagos Commissioner

The Lagos State Government said it had included funding for its two newly established universities in the state’s 2022 budget for their effective take-off in September this year.

The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, disclosed this in Lagos on Friday.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) had on Feb. 8, 2022 recognised the establishment of the two new specialised universities as approved by the Lagos State House Assembly.

The new universities are Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu, and the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Ijanikin.

They were established through the upgrade of existing institutions – Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu; Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Epe.

Adefisayo said that the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration was keen at establishing the universities, hence, had included the funding in the 2022 budget of the state.

”We have been working on this for about two years, it is not something new at all. The write-up was written maybe over one and a half years ago, presented to Exco and it had gone to the House for approval of the bill setting them up.

”The budget for education went up significantly this year, and that is where that huge increase is going to.

”The funding is in the budget. We want them to start next session, that is September. You start small in most things that you do, you pilot them, then you watch them grow,” the commissioner said.

She said that just as the fee for the Lagos State University (LASU) was affordable and lesser than many private schools fees, so would the fees of the two universities be.

Newsmen reports that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appointed the Rector of LASPOTECH, Ikorodu, Dr Oluremi Olaleye, as Acting Vice-Chancellor of the newly established LASUSTECH.