Gwagwalada (FCT) - Nigeria is to host the 12th General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) from May 4 to May 9, 2009.

A statement by Dr Abubakar Bafeto, the Secretary of the conference’s Organizing Committee, said that Nigeria would be hosting the conference for the first time since its inception in 1967.

The statement said that the theme of the conference was “Sustainable Development in Africa; Role of Higher Education”, adding that more than 300 universities were expected to attend the conference.

“The universities of Abuja and Ilorin have been chosen to provide extension venues for the conference,” it said.

“The aim of the conference is to raise the quality of higher education in Africa through collaboration among member countries toward providing support to the core functions of teaching, learning and research,” it said.

The statement said that a visitation team from AAU Headquarters in Ghana had arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday to inspect the facilities in place for the conference.

The statement said that Nigeria, as a leading African country, had been charged with role of providing the major stakeholders who would present papers and make suggestions on the conference’s theme.

It said that the conference was an opportunity for all the stakeholders, including the private sector and donor agencies, to find solutions to the educational problems facing the continent.