King’s College London has received £10million from Nigerian philanthropist and lawyer, Aare Afe Babalola, to establish the Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education.
According to a statement by the school, the new Centre will enable young Africans to access education and opportunities which they would otherwise not be able to have. The vision for the Centre is based on the power of education to empower and enable Africa’s talented young people to make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world.
The Centre will offer blended and online programmes, ensuring access to students who have had their journey to higher education disrupted by conflict, displacement, or other transitions. It will also offer post-graduate level modules which can be brought together to create professionally recognised qualifications from diplomas to Masters degrees. Aare Afe Babalola’s donation will also provide scholarships alongside other funding partners, to support bright students who would not otherwise be able to access these programmes, generating valuable knowledge about the nature and impact of transnational education on Africa’s development.
A bespoke programme for Africa will be developed in partnership with the University of London and an alliance of leading African universities. Modules will focus on topics that give talented young people society-relevant knowledge and skills that can improve their own lives, their communities, and their futures – such as law, health, engineering, peace and security, and leadership.
Professor Shitij Kapur, President & Principal of King’s College, said:
“This partnership reflects a shared belief by King’s and Aare Babalola in the power of education and its role in service to society – the ethos upon which King’s was founded nearly 200 years ago. More than 450 million African youth are between the ages of 15-35, with less than 10% of enrolled in post-secondary education, making the issue of access to quality education all the more urgent. We are delighted that Aare Babalola’s donation provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen and grow our work with partners in Africa and deliver transformative education within the region.”
This vision is inspired by Aare Afe Babalola’s own experiences of growing up without easy access to high quality education and benefitting from the transformative power of remote learning. This allowed him to study from his home in Nigeria and to graduate with degrees in Economics and Law from the University of London.
Babalola said: “Partnering with King’s College London, to me one of the first universities in the world to appreciate the power of education to provide quality education for the under-privileged in the 1960’s, is a project that is dear to my heart. This is the more so because education is the unquestionable panacea to ignorance, poverty, extremism, religious bigotry, and tribalism among other vices. My contribution to this Programme is a way of reciprocating what I benefitted from the laudable and unique External Degree Programme of the University of London in the 1960’s without which I certainly would have ended up an unsung farmer or at best the Secretary of the Local Motor Union. “
This partnership will build on King’s and the University of London’s long-standing commitment to Africa and a legacy of working in true collaboration with African academics and institutions to deliver education and impactful research partnerships in the region for the benefit of all.
A key example of this, is the African Leadership Centre, which was established at King’s and in Kenya, in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, to develop a new community of African leaders, generating cutting-edge knowledge for peace, security and development in Africa. Another is the University of London’s long-standing relationship with Nigeria’s National Universities Commission which co-delivers annual symposia for higher education leaders.
King’s has also developed a new doctoral programme in Engineering in collaboration with the University of Makerere, launched earlier this year, providing innovative training with industry placements. A joint PhD in Engineering is in development with the University of Pretoria, building on a successful joint programme in Leadership and Security Studies.
Further, King’s Global Health Partnerships works with health facilities, academic institutions, and governments to strengthen health systems and improve the quality of care in four countries: Somaliland, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia.
The University of London pioneered distance learning in the 19th century and today provides online and distance education programmes to 45,000 learners studying in their home countries around the world. Aare Afe Babalola was one such student, a powerful example of the life-changing opportunities that are afforded by higher education.
Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice-President International, Engagement and Service and Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London, said:
“Driven by our shared vision for youth education in Africa, the Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education will deliver an enduring legacy for Africa’s talented young people: access to life-changing, society-relevant, and work-ready educational opportunities. The programme has been informed by rich consultation with our longstanding partners in Africa and rigorous research activity to understand the complex underlying challenges and will be delivered at a scale that allows us to target and meaningfully reach underserved communities, wherever they are located.”
Professor Wendy Thomson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, said:
“The partnership and resource made possible by this generous gift from Aare Babalola offers a timely opportunity for us to develop transnational education programmes for young Africans in collaboration with King’s College London and a network of African institutions, that would not otherwise be possible. We are deeply grateful to Aare Babalola for his foresight and appreciation of the value education brings to personal and social development. Through the centre being established in his name, we will develop quality transnational programmes that will leave an enduring legacy.”

The vice-chancellor of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE),  Abayomi Fasina has called on Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, to prioritise university autonomy when he assumes office.

The university administrator, a professor, made the remark during the fourth matriculation ceremony for postgraduate students of the university in Oye-Ekiti on Tuesday.

Fasina said a major challenge facing public universities in Nigeria is the incessant strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a result of poor funding and lack of infrastructure.

He also advised the president-elect to appoint technocrats as ministers for agriculture, education, and finance in order to ensure the stability and efficiency of his government.

“I want to appeal to our incoming president-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu to approve university autonomy which will put an end to incessant strikes that always affect the academic calendar of the tertiary institutions,” he said.

“FUOYE is moving at a high speed to ensure that our academic calendar is stable and working, but other universities are badly affected as a result of the prolonged strike.

“If the government can employ technocrats who are experts in various fields such as education, economy, agriculture, and business, the development of Nigeria will be rapid in all ramifications.”

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has disclosed that  58 inmates from various correctional facilities are among graduands participating in its 12th convocation scheduled for March 25.

Olufemi Peters, the vice-chancellor of institution, at a Tuesday press briefing said seven of the 58 inmates are post-graduate students.

Peters said the inmates are among 28,740 students — comprising 21,339 undergraduates and 7,401 postgraduate students — that would be graduating during the convocation.

“I can tell you how these inmates are excited and grateful. They are all on scholarship. It is part of our social responsibility. We have 14 such centres in all our correctional centres. The ministry of interior wants us to extend these centres to more prisons,” he said.

“We want them to have a meaningful life after their years at the correctional centres.

“We have 6 first class students, 2,306 second class upper division, we have 11,075 students who are having second class lower divisions. We have 5,558 students who are having 3rd class. Out of this we are graduating 58 inmates.”

The VC also announced that the institution has secured accreditation for 30 programmes from the National Universities Commission (NUC).