We’ll reduce our fees, create new income sources — VC

The management of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, has announced plans to reduce tuition fees paid by its students to ensure affordability and access.

The institution's Vice Chancellor, Prof. Charles Ayo, said this on Friday while speaking at a news conference over the university's Webometrics ranking as the best university in Nigeria, Punch reports.

“Going by the thinking of the proprietor and chancellor, the commission is thinking of reducing the fees with a view to allowing more people to be able to benefit from the quality education that we have here, but it’s going to be highly competitive," he said.

Ayo said the Chancellor, Dr. ensure affordability and access and the school's management have considered the reduction.

Though a date was not stated for the planned review, he explained that the institution intends to cover the expected revenue shortfall by shoring up its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through production of 'certain items'.

“This may affect us because we would need to work more on our IGR, but we are up to the task," he said.

“By the next academic session, the university will be going into production of certain items and looking at our projection on the adventure, we are going to be raking in billions, which will supplement our income and with that, we can be sure that the fees would be reducing gradually, which also shows that education venture is not necessarily about profit-making but about service to humanity.”

He revealed that Covenant University "s now the first among all the universities in Nigeria and West Africa and the 15th in Africa" in the Webometrics Ranking of February 10, 2015,

In 2014, it was named 2nd in Nigeria and 25th in Africa.