The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

  • “440,000 candidates write JAMB exams in two days”

    “440,000 candidates write JAMB exams in two days”

    No fewer than 440,000 candidates have sat for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations within two days across the country.

    The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is’haq Oloyede made this known in Abuja on Monday during a tour of the examination centres in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Oloyede said that the exams would end in Bauchi, Abia, Niger states and some other states on May 15 while the UTME would continue in Kebbi state, Lagos state, Oyo and some other states.

    He also said that some centres in Delta state were underutilised, adding that the Board would fully involved the centres in future exams.

    He called on candidates to avoid being exploited by unscrupulous persons in the name of getting exam questions for them.

    He said that a case of a person who attacked JAMB officials in Abia state had been reported to the security personnel.

    “I believe everything is going on well. We are monitoring the situation except for a person that was said to have attacked our staff in Abia state this morning.

    “Candidates should be careful because some of these people go about telling the candidates they can give them questions.

    “We are therefore appealing to people to do everything according to the law and avoid cutting corners with JAMB,” he said.

    On the recent industrial action at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Oloyede said there was preparation to move the candidates to the University of Ilorin for their exams.

    “We understand that there is a sort of strike by either staff or students in Lautech and two of our centres are in that school.

    “However, arrangement is being made already to transfer the students because there are no private CBT centres in Ogbomosho and the closest place is Ilorin because of the proximity.

    “So we believe it is better than taking them to Ibadan or any other place in Oyo state.”

    Oloyede also condemned the incessant strike in Nigerian Universities, saying that the acts could destroy the future of the country and citizens.

    He added that unions were free to disagree with the government but not at the detriment of students.

    “Anybody who loves this country and education will be against incessant strike.

    “I don’t mean government should take academic staff or non-academic staff for granted but it means we should find a way of solving our crisis not at the expense of the innocent ones,” Oloyede said.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, who was also on exams monitoring, applauded the board for smooth conduct of the exams.

    Anwukah, however, urged candidates to put more effort in order to succeed in the examination.

    “Based on what I have seen today, the exercise is excellent and if we can fathom this into what we are doing, I think it will be excellent from now on.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that centres visited within the territory are Digital Bridge Institute, Global Learning Institute, Sascon International School and the JAMB headquarters centre.

     

  • LAUTECH: Oyo, Osun pay N500m to end crisis

    LAUTECH: Oyo, Osun pay N500m to end crisis

    The Oyo and Osun state governments have paid N250 million each to the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) to end the crisis rocking the institution.

    The Nation confirmed the development from a very top source in the university yesterday.

    The source said: “Yes, both states have paid the amount as promised and the sum is now in the kitty of the university.”

    LAUTECH students have been at home for eight months due to the industrial action by all categories of workers in the institution.

    The crisis reached a peak last week when LAUTECH students protested to the Office of the Governor of Oyo State in Ibadan, the state capital.

    While addressing them, the governor promised that each owner state would contribute a sum of N250 million to get back workers to their duty posts and build on it afterwards.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the sum would enable the institution to pay some salaries and reopen for academic activities before the end of this month.

    Reacting, the President of the Students’ Union Government of the institution, Olatunde Bakare, commended the two governors, saying it was a way forward.

    According to him, the sum, though not up to exactly what is needed to clear salary arrears for two months, would help kick-start the process of implementing the short term solution to the crisis.

    Bakare said once the short term solution is implemented, it would pave the way for the
    medium and long term solution the financial problem plaguing LAUTECH. He promised to confirm the payment.

  • LAUTECH crisis, a sore thumb – Activists

    A group of human rights activists, Movement for Peace and Development, has warned that the debilitating situation in the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, is a simmering volcano which could in future have an even more devastating effect than a bomb blast, if not sincerely addressed.
    At a media briefing on Friday in Oyo town, Chairman of the group, Comrade Ayekale Olorunyomi, described the institution’s crisis as a “sore thumb sticking out as evidence of our collective shame and hypocritical claim to reform education, governance and the very future of Nigeria by past administrations, which we all profess to love so much.”
    According to him, in view of the fact that LAUTECH was adjudged one of the very best Nigerian universities, its current condition is best described as tragic.

    “One would really need to be heartless not to feel sorry for the poor students who always get the bad end of the stick and whose lives are being mortgaged in installments by the incessant problems bedeviling this hitherto to promising university.

    “One wonders how it is ever so impossible for us in Nigeria to set up and preserve anything of value without allowing ego and personal interest to run the deal.”

    Olorunyomi appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the institution’s Chancellor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the two state governors of Oyo and Osun States, as well as the unions to see the current state of LAUTECH as a source of state and national embarrassments, hence the need to proffer urgent solution to the impasse.

    He said, “all such situations in the country deserve urgent attention before our youths are completely drained of every sense of patriotism and national pride. It is immoral and irresponsible for our leaders to invest so much resources and energy in political campaigns and horse trading all over the nation, while our institutions like LAUTECH is left to rot because of non – payment of staff salaries.”

    The Academic Staff Union of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology [LAUTECH], Ogbomoso, are currently on indefinite strike over harsh working environment.

    The institution, according to ASUU Chairman, Dr. Bodunrin Olaniran, is fast losing its seasoned academics due to what the academics referred to as “in conducive and harsh working environment”.

    So far, about six academic staff was reported to have left and without replacement and both the academic and non-academic staff are yet to receive their three months salaries.
    Since 2008, it was reliably gathered that there had been no grants for capital projects, as all on-going physical structures on campus were either NEEDS assessment or TETFUND, thus making it difficult to believe that the varsity is jointly owned by two states’ governments.

    Similarly, all internally generated revenues were being exhausted to augment payment of staff salaries while a sum of N 296 million was being  released monthly for the payment salaries, additional fund of about N84 million was being sourced for by the university management to a wage bill of between N360million and N380 million.

    This salary augmentation is adversely affecting promotion arrears, earned academic allowances, pensions and gratuity, office and laboratory facilities.
    Also, for the pat twenty-one months, no subvention has been made available to the institution, as Osun State owes eleven months, while Oyo State owes seven months.

    It was further learnt the university last received grants for research and development in 2010, as lecturers spend their personal money to carry out researches.

    The university’s Public Relations Officer, Lekan Fadeyi, said both the management and owner state governments are working round the clock to address the challenges.

  • LAUTECH denies cult clash on campuses

    The Management of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), has said there was no cult clash on any of its campuses on February 24 as reported in our online edition of Friday, February 26, 2016.

    In a statement by its Head, Public and Alumni Relations Unit, Lekan Fadeyi, the university maintained that there has never been a clash on the premises of the University, since inception, being a non-residential institution.

    ” What happened on Wednesday February 24, 2016 was an altercation between two brothers which resulted in a gun shot that led to the death of one Isah Olatilewa who was not a student of the University as he had no matriculation number.

    ” Even when both the alleged killer and his victim were not our student, Management of the institution in order to forestall the ugly occurrence from spreading to our campus which is close to the Adenike area, that is largely populated by our students swung into action, conducting its own investigation, and placed two of its students who were caught with gun, Oyedepo Adewale Abiodun, with matriculation number 104619 and Olagunju Abiodun Ololade with matriculation number 105045 both of Department of Civil Engineering, on indefinite suspicion with immediate effect .

    ” The clash never took place on our campus, and management suspended two of its students because they were found with gun, and were arrested by men of the Oyo State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    “There was no protest on Campus as both staff and students went about their normal activities on the day in question.,” Fadeyi stated.