small given its population.
He charged individuals and organisations to invest in education by establishing private universities.
Delivering the convocation lecture of the Fountain University, Osogbo, Mr. Rasheed explained that Nigeria has just over a hundred universities for a population of over 180 million people.
During the convocation, a total of 198 graduands got first degrees while honourary degrees were conferred on two eminent Nigerians, Sakariyau Babalola and Yusuf Ali.
Mr. Babalola who is the Deputy President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, was conferred with Doctor of Science while Mr. Ali who is the Pro Chancellor of Osun State University was conferred with Doctor of Letters for their respective contributions to educational development in the country.
In his lecture, the NUC Executive Secretary insisted that Nigeria needs more universities if it would be able to compete favourably with other countries across the globe.
He said the number of universities in the country currently cannot meet the demand for university
education by the citizenry.
He said the future of higher education in the country lies with how the private universities are managed, saying that the private universities should be able to fill the gap created by insufficient universities.
He disclosed that the NUC would soon convoke a summit for private universities in the country to review their activities, fine-tune their operations and assist them to be able to attain their goals.