The National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted provisional approval for the establishment of a new state-owned University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in Imo State.

NUC’s Executive Secretary Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, who presented the certificate of establishment to Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday in Abuja, said the state met all the requirements for the establishment of a university.

He said: “In line with our rules, we shall recognise this institution because all requirements required for establishing a state university has been met. It will fully owned by the Imo State government.

“The Imo State House of Assembly has enacted a law in respect of the university and the governor has assented to it. The University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences has all its strategic documents ready. NUC recognises the existence of the University of Agriculture and Environmental Studies as the second state-owned university, the 49th established by state governments and the 171st university in the Nigerian university system.”

Okorocha said his administration decided to establish another university because of the need to expand access to tertiary education.

The governor, who identified infrastructure as key in setting up a university, said the state has provided for adequate infrastructure for the university’s take off. The government is partnering with the private sector to help sustain the institution, Okorocha added.

He said: “We have over 600,000 students seeking admission into universities, and based on this, the government is building more universities to cushion this challenge. We already ensure infrastructure is in place and then it became easy to partner private investors. Funding is possible but most important is infrastructure.” (The Nation)