By Halimah Olamide
The House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking the establishment of Bola Ahmed Tinubu University of Nigerian Languages.
The bill was passed on Thursday 10th of October and was sponsored by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
According to Section II part I of the bill the university when established shall, “Encourage the advancement of learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political conviction, the opportunity of acquiring a higher education in Nigerian languages and cultures
“Develop and offer academic and professional programmes leading to the award of diplomas, first degrees, postgraduate research and higher degrees with emphasis on planning, adaptive, developmental and productive skills in the field of Nigerian languages and cultures.
This is aimed at “Producing socially mature persons with the capacity to communicate, understand and use Nigerian languages for national development.”
The institution will also act as an agent through postgraduate research, trainings for the economic utilization of the country’s resources.
Additionally, it seeks appropriate relationships with other national institutions involved in training, research and development of Nigerian languages and cultures.
The bill is expected to be listed for a second reading in the coming weeks in preparation for a public hearing to obtain stakeholders’ inputs