One of the fast-growing and high-tech-driven private-owned Open Universities in Nigeria, MIVA University, is targeting to admit 100,000 students in 2027 and gradually grow it to 1 million in the near future, which will then make it Africa’s largest single-person University.
The Founder of the Ulesson and MIVA University, Sim Shagaya stated this during his 50th Birthday ceremony held in Abuja Nigeria’s capital, where encomium was poured on him from all walks of life for his impactful ways, especially to the less privileged.
The move on increasing admissions is coming at a time when Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa is decrying the inability of Tertiary Institutions to give admissions to 70 percent of admission seekers in the country.
He said the University which started with a modest number of five hundred students in 2023 is likely to cross 10,000 by May this year.
“We started out with 500 students in the first semester. And we’ll likely cross 10,000 at the end of May this year. And our plans are to hit 18,000, 20,000 by the end of this year and 45,000 next year. And God willing, cross 100,000 sometime in 2027.
“And who knows where we go from there? One of our investors, the U.S. investor, that lady, Emily, her partner told me, you know, you have the opportunity to build the first one-million-person university on the continent, if not in the world.
“Miva is going to do some amazing things. I have no fear for Miva at all. We will hit that million students. And we will do things that will seem like magic today.”
According to the Foinder, though the University is a business venture, it concentrates more on how lives can be impacted than capitalist interests, hence the desire to grow admissions with affordable tuition and eyes on professional courses that can help develop the society.“In a bilateral one-on-one way, I would not be thinking about education and Ulesson and Miva the way I’m thinking about it right now. There’s a real opportunity for impact with this platform.
“I don’t think a purely commercial, capitalistic venture would have afforded me the honor that you all are so generously giving me today. Not in this way. I think it’s maybe because it’s evident that my colleagues and myself are doing this not just for return on investment,” he explained
He said the concept of the Ulesson and the MIVA University, made easy through the National Universities Commission, came up in other to meet the demands of the Youth and the society in general, especially funding challenges.
“For tuition, we could charge more, But it’s the kind of business where you have to sit down, and I remember we told ourselves this, what is the barest minimum that we could charge? And let’s set that number, and then when we figure that number out, let’s step back another 5%.
“What is the barest minimum that we can charge that would allow us to spread this thing out and continue to push it? And just believe in the simple fact that society will reward us in the fullness of time.”
According to him, with advanced technologies MIVA University hopes to teach courses in Medicine, Engineering among others in the nearest future.
“Technologies that I believe will allow us to one day teach mechanical engineering in a distance context, that would allow us to teach civil engineering, that would allow a doctor to perform surgery using virtual reality, allow us to teach doctors how to perform surgery without the cost of cadavers, allow us to do things that they are doing today at a fraction of the cost that they are doing,” he said
Mr. Shagaya added that the vision of the MIVA University is also to see Nigeria and its citizens ascending in many spheres of life across the globe.
“The ascendancy of Nigeria, that is the reason why we are building Miva. Miva is just a channel. The ultimate goal is the ascendancy of this land. And by ascendancy, I mean rising political clout, rising political influence, cultural influence, economic power, and military power,” he said.
The Keynote speaker at the 50th birthday colloquium, the Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, under scored the importance of impactful and affordable education in Nigeria as well as the need to use technology to increase access and address challenges in the sector.
He acknowledged the Founder of MIVA Open University, Sim Shagaya as a visioner and prime mover in this direction.
Suleiman in the event with the theme: Legacy of Leadership: Innovating For Impact and Building the Future Through Education and Enterprise, equally called on the Federal government to expand the Nigerian Education Loan scheme to include private Universities which will engender equal access to education irrespective of financial background and bridge the gap between public and private universities.
“What I hope will be the true birthday gift for Sim and for us at MIVA, is for the government to extend the Educational Loan Scheme to private universities.
“Education is crucial for Nigeria’s development, particularly tertiary education that prepares students for the workforce,” he said
Suleiman who is also a Board member of the MIVA Open University, identified inadequate physical infrastructure and a shortage of academic staff as some of the challenges affecting the quality of education in Nigeria.
“However, SIM through innovations in the MIVA University has made it easier for us to access some of the best faculty in the world which ordinarily we couldn’t have been able to pay or get their time,” he said
The Vice Chancellor, MIVA Open University, Prof. Tayo Arulogun commended the founder’s tireless efforts in establishing and growing the institution, which has enabled the institution to become a leading provider of online education in Nigeria.
He praised the founder’s leadership and dedication to promoting educational excellence, noting that his passion for education has made a significant impact on the lives of countless students who have benefited from the university’s programs.
“Our target is for our students to become employable or entrepreneurs. We ensure good AI education, creative thinking, blended learning which involves on and offline; physical interactions with both students and lectures when and where necessary to solve some problems.
“We are building an all inclusive interactive centers across the 6 geo–political regions in Nigeria for this purpose as much as we encourage them to go for internships,” he said
The former Acting Executive Secretary of the NUC, Chis Mayaki said with SIM’s innovative ideas, “MIVA has become a role model, a trailblazer and a household name, all because of his never say die spirit for shared humanity”.
The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Entrepreneurship, Chalya Shagaya; praised the entrepreneurial feats of Sim Shagaya, the founder of the popular e-commerce platform for online shopping, Konga, describing him as a brilliant entrepreneur, tech visionary, and bold thinker.
“Sim is widely known as one of Nigeria’s most influential tech entrepreneurs. He founded Konga, which redefined online shopping in Nigeria. He built U-Lesson, an edtech platform that brought classrooms into homes across Africa.
“As a senior special adviser to the president on entrepreneurship, I can assure you that this administration, under the Renewed Hope agenda, deeply appreciates entrepreneurs like Sim, who continue to work tirelessly to drive economic development and contribute meaningfully to our great nation,” she said.
The event, which also featured a panel sessions, saw over 100 scholarships offered to underserved students to cater for their needs.
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