El-Rufai orders re-opening of tertiary institutions in S-Kaduna

...pursues multi-campus policy

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, yesterday, ordered the immediate re-opening of all tertiary institutions shut down in Southern Kaduna since last December at the peak of the security challenges in that part of the state.
Governor el-Rufai gave the order on a day he disclosed that each local government in the state will host a campus of state-owned higher institutions to bring education closer to the people.

He disclosed these when he received in audience stakeholders and leaders from the Southern part of the state, noting that the decision to reopen the institutions is based on improved security situation.
The institutions that were closed at the height of farmers/herdsmen clashes were College of Education, Gidan Waya; Kaduna State University, KASU, Kafanchan campus, and School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kafanchan.
Speaking on why the state government decided to adopt the multi-campus structure for all its tertiary institutions, the governor said apart from expanding access to higher education, it will make accreditation of courses more cost-effective and respond concretely to the desire by several communities to host tertiary institutions.

…explains 
multi-campus policy
He explained that a multi-campus structure will help make the state’s tertiary institutions more inclusive and expand the range of courses students can study by making most courses available in all campuses.
His words: “The memo presented to the State Executive Council indicates that the government hopes that the various campuses spread across the state can, over time, evolve into fully-fledged universities in their own right.
“That is how the campuses of the University of California system and those of the University of London have evolved.
“This multi-campus policy will be implemented in a way that assigns at least one tertiary institution to each of the 23 local government areas. The laws of some of our institutions are already being amended to reflect this.”
The governor further promised that the long-term plan of the government was to make the state-owned university world class, both in terms of infrastructure and quality of its personnel.
He said: “Part of the transition to a multi-campus structure entails moving the main campus of KASU itself to be purpose-built main facility behind the NTI in Rigachikun.”
The governor thanked the delegation, which included Air Commodore Emmanuel Jekada (retd.) and Bishop George Dodo, Catholic Bishop of Zaria, for helping to stabilise and restore peace in the affected local government areas.
While thanking the governor for reopening the schools, Bishop Dodo, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, said though government might have good intentions on some of its policies, greater effort should be dedicated to “communicating what is being done.”