Date posted: February 28, 2015

TOKUNBO TOMETI

Tertiary level education forms the bedrock of high level manpower development in any nation. This highlights the need for a qualitative education at this level. There is a dearth of quality tertiary institutions to cater for the needs of our ever-increasing number of secondary school leavers. This has made it imperative for the private sector to take the initiative in providing tertiary education. Fired to do this is a group of Turkish businessmen who under the aegis of SURAT Group is changing the educational landscape in Nigeria with the Nigerian Turkish International Colleges and Nigeria-Turkish Nile University, writes OLUMIDE BAJULAIYE…

The Nigerian Turkish International College started in September 1998. The school opened with 23 students on a rented site at Cairo Street, Wuse 2, Abuja. Like an acorn, the NTIC has proliferated into a network of schools located in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun and Yobe States. This phenomenal growth is attributable to the quality of education obtainable in the NTIC Group of Schools. It is against this backdrop that parents and students of the NTIC mounted pressure on the management of NTIC to establish a university that will take further the tradition of excellence of the NTIC to the tertiary level. In response to this, the parent company of the NTIC, SURAT Nigeria Ltd, came up with the idea of having a world class university in Abuja. This is how the Nigerian-Turkish Nile University was born.

Nigerian-Turkish Nile University…Opened in 2009 in Abuja

Nigerian Turkish Nile University, in its vision, hopes to grow into a vanguard university that gains the respect of the world through academic excellence by providing the highest quality university education for students from around the globe. Located in the heart of Abuja, the nation’s capital, the NTNU boasts of a clean academic environment and a friendly atmosphere. NTNU is highly secured with modern laboratories and equipment. In its mission statement, the university aimed, “To provide students with opportunities of quality university education that will bring out the best in them to make them stand tall through time and ready to face the challenges of a globalized world”. Opened in 2009 in the nation’s capital, Abuja, NTNU solidified the burgeoning, mutually-beneficial relationship between Nigeria and Turkey by introducing one of the best models of a bi-culturally collaborative learning experience in the country.

As you walk into the expansive university, and walking along the corridors, you glimpse male and female students chatting heartily amongst themselves. The young men smartly dressed while the female ones in abayas and hijabs except those of them that are non-Muslim.You could feel the air of comradeship that pervades the university. The atmosphere is conducive to learning and frienship.

Though the Nigeria Turkish Nile University is only seven years old, but it is growing rapidly both in the range of courses it offers and also in the quality of education it provides for young Nigerian school leavers.

300 Nigerian, Turkish Lecturers

There are about 300 lecturers made up of Nigerians and Turkish nationals. The university presently operates five faculties- Arts, Management and Social Sciences, Science, Engineering and Law. It has a well-equipped library, an ICT centre, and serene lecture halls and modern science laboratories, all these spread over two floors of the main building. Behind the main building are the male and female hostels; in between the two is a fountain gardens and seating area serviced by ceiling fans.

The university is fully accredited by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC). NTNU has been highly acclaimed as a quality citadel of learning since its establishment. A member of the Association of International Universities, the institution has signed agreements with various Nigerian and International Universities. Presently, the University has started running Post-graduate programmes in the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration, Department of Economics, Department of Political Science and International Relations. Other included Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Department of Computer Science. Also, the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Admission into Post-graduate studies is ongoing at present at the Faculty of Law with two departments; department of Private and Islamic Law and Department of Public and International Law.

Kemanchi: We ‘ve Been On For 6 Years Without Interruption

NTNU Registrar, Mr. Kamil Kemanci, said one of the unique achievements of the school is the ability to continue without any interruption in its academic calender in the last six years, something many of the public universities in Nigerai cannot boast of.

He said: “We have been on for six years now. We are also doing well in this region; in Ghana and some other parts of this region, we are doing pretty well. We have students from over fifteen countries. As we progress it could increase. So its such a good achievement and that is also our target to attract other people to come to Nigeria I mean Abuja for university education.

“In infrastructure, we have a 15-year plan master plan. We have completed the first face; we are now going into second face. And also in five to six years now we have a good reputation among the parents. Our university also has a good name among other universities. Parents can say they can entrust their children unto us without hesitation. They don’t worry about the moral upbringing of their wards; they don’t worry about the development of their children in education.

“We have gotten approval from NUC to start post-graduate programmes, which we have started since September last year. In Management, Social sciences, Engineering and Science. The Law School has already commenced for this session. Right we are preparing for Medicine”. According to him, more parents will send their children to NTNU instead of sending them abroad to study. “We want this university to be the best for students in Nigeria in the next few years.

“We are working hard, doing our best since its all about education. Education area is always filled with hunger to reach out to more people. We are trying our best to over more scholarships, that is our major area for. We are offering scholarship to a lot of students. Some of our students are on tuition-free. If you think that you are brilliant and perform well in JAMB, WAEC and also we know that some rural areas find it difficult to be part of these JAMB exams, because of the payment. But if you are the best student of your school, any school around the country, we offer you scholarship. Currently, 17 percent of the university enrolment are on scholarship”.

Source: Western Post , February 23, 2015

Tags: Africa | Education | Hizmet-inspired universities | Nigeria |