Unveiling: Top 5 Muslim universities in Nigeria and their tuition fees

The history of Western education in Nigeria is replete with a culture of forced Christianisation, which has resulted in relentless victimisation and suppression of people of other faiths, particularly the Muslims. In the past, this wave of Christianisation was so intense that Muslims who wanted to acquire Western education had to change their Islamic names and conceal their Islamic identities.

Shockingly, despite the turn of modernisation, this ugly trend still persists, but has taken a new dimension. At present, cases where Muslim females are denied the right to don their Hijabs; and both males and females are denied the freedom to practise their religious rites as firmly enshrined in the Constitution but are coerced to chant gospel songs and attend chapels in schools controlled by the Christians are well-documented in the media.

Unlike in the past where there was a dearth of schools owned by Muslims, some committed individuals and Muslim organisations are now owing establishing schools, primary to tertiary, that not only offer standard western education but also qualitative Islamic education, which is usually non-existent in Christian schools.

While there are thousands of standard Muslim private primary and secondary schools across Nigeria, there only a few Muslim universities. In this special edition, we unveil the top 5 Muslim-owned universities in Nigeria, their tuition fees and why it has become germane for Muslim parents and their children to patronise them.

Fountain University: The first private Islamic university in Nigeria

Fountain University is a faith-based private university, established in May 2007 by one of Nigeria’s leading elite Muslim organisations, Nasrul-lahi-il-Fathi Society (NASFAT), with the mission of producing competitive and resourceful graduates with high moral standards, and the vision to be a pace-setting institution in terms of learning, character building and service to humanity.

The University is located at Oke Osun, Osogbo, Osun State. Ensconced in a serene learning environment, Fountain University currently trains students in the College of Management and Social Sciences (COMAS), College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CONAS) and College of Basic Medical and Health Sciences, which will be operational by next year.

Fountain University runs Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters Degrees in Microbiology, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Management, and Business Administration, among others.

Through its Sub-Degree/Professional Programmes Unit, the University also runs Diplomas in Arabic, Islamic and International Studies, approved by the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS), JUPEB and IJMB.

According to the Public Relations Officer of Fountain University, Mr. Toheeb Olayinka, the university is the right and appropriate option for students who are passionate and mindful of Islam and the teachings of Prophet Mohammad (SAW). Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) is made compulsory for all students before graduation.

The dressing mode acceptable in the University is Islamic for both staff and students. Academic and non-teaching staff are competent, dedicated and reliable in inculcating both academic and moral values, as the University’s certificate indicates acumen in learning and character.

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The Institution, being the first private university established by an Islamic organisation in Nigeria, has one of the most affordable tuition fees in the country. This is in line with the objectives of the founders to make qualitative education affordable and accessible to all categories of Muslim youth in the country.

Some graduates of the institution have become PhD holders in different specialisations, while many others are doing very well in their respective endeavours. One of the alumni of Fountain University just emerged as a Member of the Federal House of Representatives in one of the Southwestern states.

Also, earlier this year, the university emerged the best as two of its students who participated in the internationally recognized Rogers Hatchuel Advertising competition came second and third respectively.

This is just one of the many awards to the credit of the institution and a testimony to the fact that Fountain University produces resourceful graduates who compete favourably with students of other institutions of higher learning all over the world.

The University charges N440,000 per session. Considering several costs incurred by the University with no Federal or State Government grants and the quality of staff deployed to achieve the University’s Mission and Vision, the amount is justifiable and affordable to parents. In fact, some state universities even charge higher than Fountain University.

Crescent University: Nigeria’s foremost Muslim University

Crescent University, Abeokuta is the brainchild of a prominent legal luminary and former judge of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, His Excellency, Justice Bola Ajibola as a citadel of academic and moral excellence. It is a foremost Islamic university in Nigeria, founded in 2005 under the banner of the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA).

It was licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on June 9 of the same year. Its operating license was presented by the then Minister of Education, Mrs Nora Obaji. The university was established in consonance with her doctrine and vision: learning and character.

Justice Bola Ajibola founded the university on his retirement from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the age of 70, after selling his assets in Nigeria and abroad to achieve the noble cause of assisting the Nigerian youth in closing the widening gap between attainable potentials, student population and limited space in public universities. Of his visions, the accomplishment of Crescent University is the ultimate.

The University, which prides itself as a citadel of academic and moral excellence, has graduated 10 sets at undergraduate level and three sets at Masters level. Today, many of these products are performing excellently well both in further studies and employment. Some of them who made First Class in their first degrees have also clinched Distinctions/PhD grades in their MSc programmes abroad and in government-owned universities in Nigeria.

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Rafiat Gawat, a First Class product of Mass Communication from Crescent University achieved a Distinction at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, where she studied for her Master’s. Rofiat Alli, another First Class product from Crescent University also achieved a Distinction in her Master’s programme in Forensic Accounting at University of Portsmouth, England.

Products of Crescent University have also led the Postgraduate Entrance Examinations at UNILAG’s Department of Mass Communication for three consecutive years. Only recently, Adedeji Ajayi,who bagged his BSc and MSc degrees from Crescent University, got a keenly contested appointment as a senior journalist (Planning) with the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC), while employers of labour have consistently lauded Crescent University products for their good conduct. This is, in fact, in concord with Justice Ajibola’s mission that “we are not out to produce brilliant beasts but global citizens” who will bring about peaceful coexistence among nations of the world.

In the estimation of Justice Ajibola, “the most important criteria for university ranking especially for parents and sponsors should be the quality and performance of graduates in further studies and employment”.

Crescent University, Abeokuta, in its 14 years of existence, has sufficiently justified this claim by its founder. Her 100% score in the recent National Universities Commission’s accreditation of Crescent University programmes is a testimonial to this quality assurance from the Citadel of Academic and Moral Excellence.

In a chat with Muslim News, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Idris Katib said, “Muslims in Nigeria and beyond stand to benefit from the vision of academic and moral excellence at Crescent University, Abeokuta.”

According to him, The vision dwells on the fact that a bird does not fly with one wing. The vision of knowledge is one wing while the vision of character constitutes the other wing. Employers of labour and other stakeholders have consistently lauded Crescent University products for their good conduct.

That is the value Crescent University is already adding to the society through our alumni who are its ambassadors all over the world. At every convocation of the university, the first prize, which is the proprietor’s prize, is the Best Behaved Student (male and female), even ahead of the Best Graduating Student’s Prize. Crescent University breeds global citizens rather than brilliant beasts who disrupt the world.

Worldwide, university education is not cheap. The value comes with a price tag. That is why education experts estimate that the cost of keeping a student in any Nigerian university per session is about N1m. What this means is that any university charging less than that is still struggling and may not break even.

Crescent University, Abeokuta charges between N280,000 and N1m per year/session. These fees represent one of the lowest in Nigeria. To cater for a segment of indigent students, the university, under the Bola Ajibola Scholarship for Academic and Moral Excellence, assists a number of students, especially female students throughout their studies. This is in line with the vision of the founder to support girl-child education.The best graduating student in the 2018 convocation, Ayokunnumi Tiamiyu, benefited from the Bola Ajibola Scholarship for Academic and Moral Excellence.

Al-Hikmah University: The Domicile of Islamic Scholarship

Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State was established in 2005 by the Abdur-Raheem Oladimeji Islamic Foundation (AROIF), Nigeria. The University came into existence via the granting of License No. 010 to operate as a Conventional Private University by the Federal Government of Nigeria on 7th January, 2005. It commenced academic activities during the 2005/2006 academic session with 70 students spread across the three take-off Colleges, Humanities, Management Sciences and Natural Sciences.

Today, Al-Hikmah University has six faculties (Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences, Education, Law and Health Sciences) and the Postgraduate School. It has 48 Undergraduate, 7 Diploma and 21 Postgraduate Programmes.

The University also has 8 Centres which include Part-time and Professional Studies, Diploma and JUBEB Studies, ICT and Distance Learning, Islamic Heritage and Community Development, Research and International Cooperation, Summer Studies, Entrepreneurial and Vocational, Remedial and Extral Mural Studies and Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance. At the moment, her student population is above 4000, inclusive of Postgraduate students. All her academic programmes are accredited by the National Universities Commission.

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According to Mr Shittu Adefowope Lukman, the University Information Officer, Al-Hikmah University stands out among Nigerian Universities as a conventional private university with a well-articulated mission of promoting both academic and moral excellence for the good of the Nigerian nation in particular and for furthering the course of humanity in general. The overall goal of the University is summed up in its motto: “Learning for Wisdom and Morality”.

The University curriculum is geared towards promoting academic excellence and also ensuring moral and spiritual uprightness of her youths, most especially in the face of the imposing vicious challenges posed to humanity at large at the wake of the 21st Century. The University also contributes to the economic growth of the nation through offering employment opportunities to all, irrespective of political, social, religious, gender, racial or ethnic affiliations.

From its inception to date, the institution has continued to grow and develop in its quantity and quality of human, physical and material resources.

Her 2018 convocation marked her 8th time of turning out a large crop of students who have been well baked and steeped in the rigorous academic tradition of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Her vision is to serve as a fore-runner in the provision of quality University education of international standard, while her Mission is to be an educational institution where sound academic knowledge blends with moral and spiritual excellence.

Muslims stand to gain a lot from Al-Hikmah because it incorporates outstanding pristine religious values into western education and this is also reflected in her motto: “Learning for Wisdom and Morality”.

Al-Hikmah University didn’t disclose her tuition fees to our correspondent when asked how affordable the school is for Muslims. “It is the cheapest private institution in the whole of Nigeria”, said the school information officer. However, sources from among the lecturers and students said the tuition fees vary, ranging from N100, 000 to N500, 000.

Al-Qalam University, Katsina: A Beacon of Erudition from the North

Al-Qalam University came into existence in the year 2005. It was registered and licenced first as Katsina University, Katsina by the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC). Al-Qalam University was also categorised as a private University as there is no category of community university in the Nigerian Universities classification.

The Integrated Curriculum which comprised both Western and Islamic contents practiced in the university has made it unique from other conventional universities. The manner and means of operating the university is in line with the principles of Shariah as restrictions in the interaction between the genders is highly enforced. The sitting arrangements, the dress code are all in accordance with the Islamic guidelines. The study of the holy Qur’an and Islamic morals were made compulsory upon all students.

The tuition fees in Al-Qalam University are payable for every academic session and differ from program to program. Basically, programs of sciences and science education are charged a total of N193, 000 Naira only, while Humanities and Social Sciences are charged N165, 000 Naira only. The amount is very fair to many but only the current persisting poverty in the country and mostly in the North made it difficult for poor Muslim parents to pay for their children.

Summit University: A Product of Islamic Educational Renaissance

Nigeria’s oldest Muslim organisation, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADSN) has no doubt invested heavily in education through the establishment of public and private nursery (33), primary (236) and secondary schools (58) across the country, largely spread in the Southwest and Northern Nigeria. The 96 year old organisation also has one College of Education and its efforts to establish a full fledged private Muslim University, which began in 2004, materialised on March 5, 2015 when it obtained its provisional licence (the 59th private University) from the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The Proprietor’s decision to locate the University at Offa, Kwara State is partly due to the historic role of Offa as a foremost centre of education and its peace loving community, which established several educational institutions through self-help efforts.

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Although, it’s an Islamic faith-based institution, the Proprietor of the school said it will offer qualitative tertiary education to all Nigerians irrespective of religion, ethnicity, sex and creed.

The University currently runs seventeen (17) programmes which include: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Biochemistry and Microbiology in the College of Natural & Applied Sciences; Accounting, Business Administration, Banking & Finance, Economics, Political Science and Mass Communication in the College of Management & Social Sciences; and Arabic, Islamic Studies, English & Literary Studies and History & Diplomatic Studies in the College of Humanities.

The University currently operates a broad-based curriculum which entails the skill content of all programmes. In August 2018, the NUC came for a review of the University’s Operating Licence; the result has been very favourable and the permanent Operating Licence is expected to be issued very soon.

Its tuition fee for science-based programmes is N380,000, while non-science based programmes pay N375,000.00 approximately, including acceptance and accommodation fees.

By: Rasheed Abubakar