Ahead of its 10th anniversary, the Rochas Foundation says it has obtained a licence for the establishment of a tuition-free university in the country.
Director-General of ROFOSA, Ms. Uloma Okorocha, said this at a press briefing on Saturday in Abuja. The briefing councided with the 50th birthday of the foundation’s President, Governor Rochas Okorocha.
According to Uloma, who is the governor’s daughter, the university will only be for students from poor homes.
She said, “The Rochas Foundation is establishing a university which is going to be conventional but with a touch to compete favourably with other world class universities. It is going to be free, and meant for the children of the poorest of the poor.”
Uloma also said the foundation recently uncovered admission irregularities involving some staff in the sale of its entry application forms into its five colleges, especially in its Ibadan centre. She added that an investigation had commenced to fish out the perpetrators.
She said, “The Rochas Foundation was set up to be a source of hope for the poorest of the poor in the society and to ensure that every less-privileged child was given the opportunity to get a comprehensive free education. However, it had come to the foundation’s notice that some privileged children, who could afford a comprehensive education due to their family status were also being offered admission into the schools under the guise of poverty.
“You may have heard the rumour of sack in the Rochas Foundation but I can tell you that what we want to do is staff appraisal exercise which is meant to measure the competence, dedication and passion of all teachers of the Rochas Foundation Colleges and to ensure that the foundation’s goals of moulding students into effective leaders for the society is maintained.”