Kaduna — Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Olugbemiro Jegede, yesterday told House of Representatives members that six million Nigerians do not have access to university education, despite being qualified.

The figure, according to him, is in addition to the 20 million potential primary school children that are not in school, and an additional 27 million potential secondary, vocational and technical students that have no have access to it.

Jegede stated these at the Kaduna Study Centre of the University, while giving a status briefing on NOUN during an oversight visit by House of Representatives Committee on Education, led by its chairman, Alhaji Faruk Lawan.

In addition to another two million Nigerians who could not get into Colleges of Education and Polytechnics, Jegede stunned the House members, telling them that a total of 55 million Nigerians, out of the country's 140 million population, who ought to be in school at different levels, are not due to infrastructural constraints.

While adding that since 1998 to date, the average admissions rate by schools in Nigeria is about 14.3 per cent, the Vice Chancellor, calledon government to adopt educational policies that will ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.

He further urged government to make life-long education the basis for the nation's educational policy so that after primary education, an individual will be able to choose the preferred mode of learning.

According to him, for the Federal Government to fight mass literacy that would shore up the country's literacy level, an educational road-map that should focus on four areas that include; access and equity; standard and quality assurance; technical and vocational education and training; funding, resources mobilisation and utilisation.

He added that NOUN, which has 39 study centres across Nigeria, and if properly funded by the Federal Government, should be able to provide the Polytechnic and University requirements of all Nigerians at tertiary levels.

After taking the House members round the university's farm, fish farm and the university's commercial buses, which the VC explained is to help the university's drive for fund, also gave them the assurance that if the Federal Government can substantially fund NOUN for five years and scaled it down for another five years, the university will be able to exist in 10 years' time without a single kobo from the Federal Government.

Lawan, while replying after the tour, added that the situation is bad, considering that in 2008 alone, Federal, State and privates

universities in Nigeria could only admit about 100,000, while those who wrote the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination are about one million eligible youths.