The Kano State Government says it has sponsored 450 students to study various degree programmes in three private universities in the country.Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso said this when he addressed the beneficiaries at the Government House, Kano, on Thursday.The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 250 students would study in Igbinedion University, Edo, while 100 students each would go to Bells University, Otta, and Crescent University in Abeokuta, respectively.‘’This is an opportunity for you, most of whom are the children of the less-privileged’’, the governor told the students.He urged them to be good ambassadors of the state in particular and the country in general.‘’We will monitor your conduct and academic performance at all times because your success is our success.‘’I will also like to assure our people that our administration will continue to live up to its expectation by investing heavenly towards the expansion, rehabilitation and provision of infrastructure in our educational institutions.‘’This is necessary in order to create an enabling environment needed by the youth and good people of Kano State to pursue and realise their potentials.’’Kwankaso said the state government would spend about N1 million on each of the 450 students, annually.He said the state government would establish a special college for the study of Chinese language in Panshekara, Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state.Already, he said, the state government had concluded the necessary arrangement with the Chinese government to train 30 teachers who would subsequently train more teachers before the take-off of the college in 2014.

No government should be spending its fund patronizing private universities while the public ones are shut down from lack of funding. This is a gross act of bad judgement from Rabiu.

What is immoral about sending deserving students to private schools?

I dey wonder for the OP?

He sent them to private universities in Nigeria and you're complaining. Is he not better than Asari Dokubo and Seriake Dickson who sponsor their indigents to the university built by Asari himself in Benin Republic?

sincerenigerian: What is immoral about sending deserving students to private schools?

Im not qualifying whether or not the students are deserving, Im sure every student is deserving. Im commenting on the Governor's decision.

Please reframe your question so I can answer you.

berem: He sent them to private universities in Nigeria and you're complaining. Is he not better than Asari Dokubo and Seriake Dickson who sponsor their indigents to the university built by Asari himself in Benin Republic?

The difference between public and private university is subsidy. Government subsidizes the cost of what students and their parents would pay to complete the degree program.

States budget for education and Federal government also budget for education. In addition, universities get grants for research and faculty programs and further, philantrophers donate or build structures for name adoption.

The reason the universities get grants and private donations is because of government commitment in the first place. So when government takes its budgeted education funding and spends it in private schools thats conflict of interest. We have here a situation where government is now subsidizing private universities. Private universities are private investments and operate in open market, you prove your worth to get subscription and patronage and this drive for competition improves excellence and value for the graduating students.

If this action is not decried we run a risk that universities will begin to compete for subsidy from government. This will indulge political endorsements and godfatherism and we end up with proliferation of private universities all over the place. Currently we have people not academically or socially qualified to own nurseryshool, but they own and operate university.

Let us not make an already bad situation even worse!