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  • UI celebrates its 12 graduates with First Class at Law School

    The University of Ibadan (UI) has congratulated 12 of its products who made First Class in the final Bar examinations at the Nigerian Law School in the current session.

    A statement by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, which he posted on his Facebook page yesterday, said the feat was a confirmation of the institution’s creed as contained in the second stanza of its anthem, which reads: “Greatness, won with honest toil.”

    He urged students and alumni to always remember that “if it is from Ibadan, it must be of outstanding quality”.

    Olayinka said the performance was unprecedented in its Faculty of Law’s 32-year history.

    The first graduates of the faculty proceeded to the Law School in 1986.

    Noting that only five of the 12 graduates who made First Class at the Law School made First Class at the university, the vice chancellor said it was a source of pride that the seven others made Second Class Upper Division at the university to join the league of high flyers at the Law School.

    The vice chancellor hailed the lecturers in the faculty for giving their students a solid training.

    He named the UI products with excellent performances as: Joseph Ogunmodede (The Class Valedictorian during the 2017 Convocation at Ibadan), Afam Ikeakanam, Emeka Ezekwesiri, Yetunde Oyeyipo, Tosin Omobitan, Tosin Ogunbona, Olo Egbokhare and Feyikemi Fatumbi. Others are: Zacheaus Akanni, Daphne Ekpe, Seyi Adebimpe-Ojo and Iyanuoluwa Alarape.

    The statement read: “On behalf of the Council, Senate, management, workers and students of the University of Ibadan, it is our pleasure to specially congratulate 12 of our Year 2017 LLB graduates who earned First Class in their Final Bar Examinations of the Nigerian Law School.

    “It is gratifying to note that only the first five Law graduates on this list were awarded First Class Honours by the University of Ibadan; the other seven equally outstanding graduates on this roll of honours finished with Upper Second Class at Ibadan.

    “While congratulating the 12 Law graduates and their other colleagues who were equally  successful in the Final Bar Examinations, we acknowledge with pride the contributions of the Dean of Law and all the Faculty members at Ibadan for the very solid foundations they have provided for our students to excel and distinguish themselves. We do not take your support for granted.

    “We also congratulate all the deservedly proud parents and guardians, siblings and families of our graduates of the Law School Class of 2018. It is a privilege for us to share in your joy. You have given us at least one more reason to be happy and excited.

    “This honour and distinction is coming at a time the university is celebrating its Platinum Jubilee. It is trite to mention here that your collective achievements will receive a favourable mention in the Vice-Chancellor’s address at the 2018 Convocation and 70th Founders’ Day on Saturday, November 17, 2018. We have never had it so good since our first set of Law graduates from Ibadan proceeded to the Nigerian Law School in 1986!”

  • UI names centre after FCMB Group founder Balogun

    The University of Ibadan (UI) has again honoured the Founder of FCMB Group, Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun, by naming its modern and multi-purpose conference centre after him.

    The centre will be unveiled and renamed Otunba Subomi Balogun Conference Centre.

    According to the university, the decision is in recognition of Otunba Balogun’s numerous and significant contributions to the development of the institution, education and the country over the years.

    UI, in a letter to the FCMB Founder from the Governing Council and signed by the Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Mrs. Olubunmi Faluyi, said: “We acknowledge with gratitude, your prayers and goodwill for the continuous progress of the University’’.

    Balogun is said to be the first Board Chairman of UI Ventures, who brought his business acumen into play to transform the organisation into a full-fledged business group. Today, UI Ventures whose hotel arm has about 110 rooms of quality standard, is into printing, landscaping and horticulture, consulting, bakery products, computer training centre, petrol station as well as a fast food business, among other interests.

    Commenting on the naming of the architectural masterpiece after him, Otunba Balogun expressed profound gratitude to the UI for finding him worthy of the honour. He stated: “I thank you for appreciating my services and commitment to the University of Ibadan by this recent honour that you bestowed on me. I feel honoured by and I deeply appreciate the long and personal relationship I have had with the University of Ibadan over the years. It is my prayer that the university will continue to retain the position of a primus-inter-pares among the tertiary institutions in Nigeria.’’

    The Otunba Subomi Conference Centre has five halls. It can accommodate between 3,000 and 5,000 guests in the main auditorium and up to 7,000 guests in the entire complex. The parking lot that can accommodate about 700 cars is also a major value added. The interior of the conference rooms are tastefully decorated.

    The centre offers an extensive range of modern facilities and services. Such facilities include presentation screens, projectors and individual highly sensitive microphones. that can be used independently in each of the halls or in all the halls simultaneously.

     

  • How to gain admission into UI

    The motivation to write on this matter is informed by the preponderance of telephone calls I receive daily from candidates, parents and educationists, wanting to know how they can secure admission into the University of Ibadan (UI).

    They say: “I love UI”; “I want to attend UI, but I don’t know anybody there”; “I don’t have connection there! Can you assist me?”; “How much can I give as bribes in order to gain admission to UI?” What a misconception! They see UI as the richest ad cheapest intellectual citadel of higher learning in Nigeria, yet they are bereft of basic facts about the University.

    One will now begin to enlighten the callers, explaining the modalities of securing admission into the Nigeria’s premier university, fondly referred to, as the First and Best.  You do not need any connection; neither do you have to give bribes to get into UI. In other words, UI’s admission process is not only tough but absolutely merit-driven. This is because the University sees all the states of the federation as its catchment areas. Thus, admission slots are highly competitive, available only to the best of the best candidates, irrespective of socio-economic status.

    Again, UI’s undergraduate admission process seems to be so tough and rigorous because the University is fast becoming a Post Graduate institution, training manpower for other younger universities in the country.  This Postgraduate flagship status automatically limits undergraduate admission capacity. While the National Universities Commission (NUC) approves up to 8,000 admission slots for UI, the institution admits yearly, an average of 3,500 undergraduate candidates whom the available facilities can effectively accommodate, in order to be able to concentrate on Postgraduate studies.

    To be fair to all undergraduate admission seekers, the Management has, over the years, entrenched a culture, which gives everybody a level-playing ground for competition, with the ultimate goal of picking the best candidates. With five credits in relevant ordinary level subjects, 200 and above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and a good post-UTME score, a candidate has a chance to study in UI.

    However, there is a problem!  Most of the candidates with good WASSCE and UTME grades do not excel in UI’s post UTME test, which is more or less a repetition of past UTME questions. Whereas, the test is a quality-control mechanism designed to validate candidates’ claims, yet, many perform abysmally to the embarrassment of their parents. For instance, out of over 21,000 candidates who sat for UI’s last Post- UTME test conducted last October, only about 9,000 got 50 and above, out of which UI admitted about 4,000.

    But what is the problem? The simple truth is that today’s students are largely distracted. Indeed, to me, the distraction offered our students by the social media demands serious attention of both parents and guardians. Our failure to reckon with this simply denies us the grasp of where the problem lies.

    Social media has its merits, but the youth of this generation seem to tilt much more towards its demerits. Candidates seeking admission into UI, but are habitually glued to Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn , Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat among others, have already limited their chances of getting in, because they may have little or no time to study to the level demanded by UI . In addition, the youth equally waste precious time watching TV, especially sports channels, where they memorize all the names of football players. All of these indulgences affect reading habits, and consequently, poor academic performances.

    Let me slice it a little thinner, the reasons for mass failure in public examinations are certainly, multifactorial. But I am convinced that in today’s world, where everybody is connected and nobody is in control, social media is responsible for denying the students their dreams , as they don’t succeed academically as much as they have capacity to. They waste a lot of time on frivolities and pornographic materials. Unfortunately, many parents condone what should be condemned.

    In the last UI’s post-UTME test in which my daughter participated, I took some measures perceived by my nucleus family members to be in extreme, which ultimately contributed to her success. Having realized the dangers of social media, I denied her the use of phone until; and I stopped subscribing to DSTV until after the exams. I bought several JAMB past questions for her and began to monitor her. We indeed studied together! When the result came, it was amazing as she scored 72 and got admission to UI on merit. This was the same Post-UTME test in which thousands of other candidates flunked, getting 27, 32 and 41, thereby bungling their chances of studying at Ibadan.  It is said that if you can pay the price, you will get the prize.

    Success doesn’t happen by happenstance. It is a product of hard work. The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and serious preparation. Consistent hard work leads to success. This is therefore a wake-up call for parents to moderate the addiction of their children to social media. Parents have the mandate of moral regeneration. It needs no emphasis that the children of these days need attitude reconstruction to study.

    Serious reading is the best nourishment for the mind, and the foundation for clear thinking and sound planning. But our children will love to live in luxury of life without too much stress. They prefer to be lassies-faire about their business of knowledge acquisition. You can’t blame them; this is a generation with consumer mentality. They prefer consumption to production.

    Securing UI’s admission is like winning a lottery, nothing beats the feeling. This is a university with the highest number of professors in the country.  About 50 percent of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities are products of UI.  It is the intellectual capital of Nigeria.

     

  • Scholars in UI for Oral Literature conference

    Over 200 scholars on Oral Literature are at the University of Ibadan (UI) for the 12th edition of the International Society For The Oral Literatures Of Africa (ISOLA) conference.

    The event, co-hosted by the Nigerian Oral Literature Association (NOLA) and the university, is the first in Nigeria in 25 years of ISOLA, a multilingual scholarly organisation, dedicated to the study and promotion of the rich oral traditions of Global Africa.

    The three-day event will end tomorrow.

    According to President of NOLA Prof G G Darah,  the conference will serve as a wake-up call for the country to pay attention to the untapped resources in its Culture and Tourism sector.

    With the theme of “Oral Literatures and African Festivals: Tradition and Globalisation”, over 150 papers will be presented by scholars and experts from Africa and across the world. Scholars from about 60 Nigerian tertiary institutions are participating. The conference keynote speakers – Nigeria’s Prof Isidore Okpewho, Africa’s foremost oral literature scholar, a two-term President in the 1990s and Tal Tamari, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris. (Felicia Ohwovoriole).

    “As the Convener, I am truly delighted to note special panels dedicated to special areas of scholarly and performance interest. The premier University of Ibadan has proclaimed to the world that it is truly the cradle of African literature by hosting the conference, The citadel that nurtured the Chinua Achebes, J.P. Clarks, Wole Soyinkas, Chukwuemeka Ikes., Mabel Seguns, Flora Nwapas, Molara Ogundipes, Isidore Okpewhos, Femi Osofisans, Tanure Ojaides, Niyi Osundares, Odia Ofeimuns and other wordsmiths and storytellers who have enchanted and counselled millions across the world

    “The theme is very pertinent to current trends in cultural studies with 13 sub-themes exploring various aspects of festivals and how they foster artistic creativity and innovations. There is a grand panel dedicated to Prof Okpewho’s works and career. ISOLA, headed by Nigerian scholar based in the United States, Prof Chiji Akoma, has endowed a prize in his honour for the best paper presented by a postgraduate student participant,” Prof Darah said.

  • 11 universities to share FG’s N84m research grant

    The Acting Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, said on Saturday that at least 11 universities in the country would share the Federal Government’s N84 million research grant.

    The fund, spread amongst the tertiary institutions, is basically for geological mapping, mining engineering and materials and metallurgical engineering.

    Bwari, who disclosed this while presenting letters of participation in research development to representatives of the universities, said the federal government has made data generation, retrieval and storage a priority and has continued to invest hugely in the area.

    The institutions are – Obafemi Awolowo University (N9 million), Federal University of Technology Minna, (N9 million), University of Nigeria Nsukka, (N9 million), Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, (N9 million), University of Port Harcourt (N6.5 million) and University of Jos (N6.5 million).

    Others are – University of Lagos (N6.5 million), University of Ibadan (N6.5million), Nasarawa State University, Keffi, (N6.5 million), Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki, (N6.5 million) and Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, (N9 million).

    Bwari said: ” I am delighted to be here today to present Letters of Participation in Research Development to representatives of some of Nigeria’s foremost universities as part of our ministry‘s collaboration with tertiary institutions.

    “I am told that this is the first time the ministry will be giving out such assistance to universities research purposes, but I can assure you that this will certainly not be the last.

    “In the last two and half years, this ministry has established a consistent pattern of engaging and listening to stakeholders in order to secure their input into policy formulation and implementation.

    “This administration has therefore made data generation, retrieval and storage a priority and has continued to invest hugely in this area. As our source of funding improves, we intend to continuously increase the amount of money we spend on this critical component of mining.

    “The N84 million that is being shared by 11 universities today for research development in various areas relating to mapping and evaluation of particular mineral deposits will no doubt increase the fountain of geoscience data available to investors.”

  • Social media post : UI pardons expelled student

    A 100 level student of University of Ibadan (UI), Geology Department , during the 2015/16 academic session , Kingsley Chinemerem Anyanwu who  was expelled for embarrassing  the university and calling  the Vice Chancellor, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka various unprintable names on social media has been pardoned and readmitted

    Anyanwu was expelled during the 2016/17 session for gross misconduct after facing Student Disciplinary Committee and found guilty.

    However, following a contrition on the part of the student, the Vice Chancellor according to his  Media Assistant, Sunday Saanu in a facebook post graciously forwarded his case to the Council for reconsideration and forgiveness where Anyanwu was told to go and sin no more.


    He has since been allowed to resume his studies with effect from the beginning of this current 2017/18 academic session .


    Speaking on the development recently, the VC, Prof. Olayinka asserted that his administration was not ready to jeopardize the future of any student by expulsion, but added “yet, we have the responsibilities to instill character and learning in them”


    “We are in loco parentis expected to process them for the ultimate use of the society. A 100 level student is still raw and green. We take some of these insult and embarrassment in our stride in order to ensure that they have a rosy future. But we will not hesitate to wield a big stick for anyone considered to be incorrigible because the certificate going out from UI must be based on sound character and learning ” said the VC.


    However, the Vice Chancellor  warned that the fact that his administration was lenient shouldn’t embolden any student to be rude, pointing out that a 400 level student in Anyanwu’s situation may not have been so lucky because that is considered a mature level.

  • UI, others to offer herbal medicine

    THE University of Ibadan, University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, and Samuel Adegboyega University (SAU), Ogwa, Edo State have okayed herbal medicine for their curricula. This is following a deal with PaxHerbal Clinic and Research Laboratories.

    Its clinic Director, Rev. Anselm Adodo, broke the news at a briefing in Ikeja, GRA, Lagos.

    He said UNIMED would run a Bachelor’s Degree in Herbal Medicine, SAU, a higher certificate programme and UI, a Master’s and a Ph.D in African Traditional Medicine at its Institute of African Studies. Also, UI is running a course in Herbal Medicine, through the Pharmacy Department.

    Rev Adodo said: “An expert committee, with members drawn from key government research and regulatory agencies, set up by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to draw up standards for official identification of African medicinal plants has also made progress in its research findings.”

    The Institute of African Studies will also offer a professional certificate programme in Herbal Medicine.

    “This programme aims to empower traditional healers to professionalise their practice. It is also open to pharmacists and medical practitioners who need a working knowledge of Herbal Medicine with the attendant certification from a credible institution,” Rev Adodo explained.

    According to him, the undergraduate courses will be fulltime, while the certificate courses can be obtained part time.

    Besides, Rev Adodo said the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) has signed a Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) with PaxHerbals to research the use of plants as foods and medicine.

    “We have also signed an MoU  with PaxHerbals and its subsidiary, the Pax Integral Research and Development Initiative (OFIRDI), and Lagos State Coconut Development Agency (LASCODA) on research into coconut-based products,”  Adodo said.

    The Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), which last year signed an MoU with Paxherbals on research and development of Traditional Herbal Medicine, has established a Centre for Herbal Medicine, Alternative and Complementary Medicine Research, while the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), and the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories have prepared a protocol for a clinical trial of the Pax herbal malarial medicine called Malatreat, which is awaiting ethical clearance from health regulators.

    “I, as Director of Paxherbals, have always been actively involved, either as a member of a curriculum advisory committee, curriculum review committee or a research committee. My participation brought awareness to several areas of neglect, especially the dearth of literature on herbal medicine from Nigeria and documentation of Nigerian plants and flora for students and researchers. This has compelled Nigerian researchers to depend excessively on foreign publications to help them in their local research, which is practically difficult and not easy to compare. As a contribution towards solving this problem, I decided to publish a research book titled: “Medicinal Plants of Nigeria: An Ethnobotanical survey and Plant Album’, to be released in July, this year,” Rev Adodo said.

    He explained that the book aims to serve as a workbook for students, teachers and practitioners in the field of ethnobotany and ethnomedicine.  It documents the plants that are traditionally used by the local population, the history of local use, and the traditional beliefs around the use in Nigeria. At a time when so much attention is being given to phytochemica l screening of plants.

    He added: “There is a temptation to overlook the philosophy of ethnomedicine and cultural use of plants, thereby losing the link between plants and the community.

    ‘’This research adopts a community-oriented approach to African herbal medicine research and argues for a return to a community-based approach to medicine, wherein the health of the individual is closely aligned with that of the community. Community in this context includes plants, animals and the environment.”

    One of the major weaknesses of Traditional Medicine, according to Rev Adodo, is that it has not yet moved from the realm of the subjective to that of objective as well as from implicit to explicit knowledge. It is crucial that traditional medicine evolves from implicit to explicit knowledge, from knowledge embodied in individual local healers to a community of knowledge that is available to all, he added.

    He said in Africa, it is difficult to separate the practice of herbal medicine from the herbal practitioner. “In conventional medicine, it is different; if a patient dies after a series of treatment and medication, people rarely blame or condemn the practice of medicine as a discipline, or declare it completely ineffective. Instead, it just means that a particular case was simply impossible, or not successful. If a medical doctor makes mistakes or acts contrary to the principle of ‘do no harm,’ or is noticed to have been negligent, he or she is penalised by the relevant authorities.

    “However, such individual mistakes and inefficiencies do not always mean that the discipline of medicine is bad, and the people understand. On the contrary, people often fail to make this distinction when it comes to traditional medicine, they often judge and condemn the practice of herbal medicine itself when an individual practitioner defaults or is negligent. This is partly due to lack of firm control and regulatory system as well, that ensures disciple and effectiveness. On the other hand, lack of documentation, illiteracy and little emphasis on knowledge sharing and research, has significantly retarded traditional medicine as a field of discipline.”

    Rev Adodo assured that Paxherbals will continue to work with the government and Non- Governmental Organisaions (NGOs)for the development of African herbal Medicine.

  • When Dankwambo visited UI

    As part of the activities marking the 60th anniversary of University of Ibadan Alumni Association (UIAA), which came up recently at the University (UI), Gombe State governor, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo was the guest lecturer for the Fifth National Public Service and 60th anniversary lecture. Gov. Dankwambo spoke on: “Survival of the States: How Transparency and Accountability Help Revenues and Expenditure Management in States: Success Story from Gombe State”.

    Although some of those in attendance at the lecture had never been to Gombe State, the facts and figures presented by the governor, coupled with his profile as a chartered accountant of note, made the audience to feel comfortable to listen to the his homily on accountability and transparency. Again, there are testimonies that this former Accountant-General of the Federation is really performing wonders in his state, turning lemons into lemonade!

    Indeed, at the end of his 90-minute lecture, it was glaring that Gov. Dankwambo was not only an expert on the theme, but a true practitioner of his own preaching whose transparent and accountable leadership, has since 2011, taken Gombe State to a much higher level than he met it. Gombe which was down the rungs among states in Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in 2010, according to Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), has today achieving gone up the ladder. This is as a result of the leadership of a man who initiated the electronic-payment system during the Obasanjo administration while serving as Accountant-General of the federation.

    Speaking on the subject, however, Gov. Dankwambo who adopted a scholarly approach to dissect the issue noted that fiscal sustainability was a challenge in most states in Nigeria, adding “most state governors inherited a system where transparency and accountability were mere platitudes. Gombe was  no exception “. Clearly, the governor is sincere here. Corruption is a major problem in Nigeria. Describing accountability and transparency as relevant to Nigeria’s current economic circumstances, the 1985 Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) graduate who situated his position in the Darwinist postulation, argued that for states to survive “ we have to work individually as states and collectively as a nation in developing our “sociable habits” in order to secure the maintenance of our species, our extension, and our further progressive evolution in order to survive or “doomed to decay”.

    Dankwambo who is believed to be nursing a presidential ambition on the platform of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), insisted that the survival of state governments in Nigeria “is a function of ability of the leaders to plan and execute projects and programmes effectively and efficiently, pointing out that transparency and accountability are the functional media for achieving this. While condemning the widespread corruption in the country, he submitted that state governors must live a life of service and sacrifice for the betterment of their people. “In 2011, I was bequeathed with a population that was 8.5 poorer than when my predecessor took over in 2003.  I make bold to say that today, Gombe state has evolved to the level that it has propelled itself on the path of growth and progress, in addition to which it holds even greater potential.

    With unpretentious confidence, Talban Gombe, who appeared highly cerebral, radical in orientation and courageous in conviction maintained that for states to survive the current economic situation, “the answer could be found in the thinking of Charles Darwin as states must adapt to changing circumstances or risk possible extermination, which could come in any form, including violent revolution, like Arab Spring. According to him, “accountability and transparency are the main ingredients for successful public finance management. This holds true both at national and sub national levels”.

    With intermittent applause and singing from UI students who thronged the venue to listen to the governor, Dankwambo who holds a Ph.D degree in accountancy believed that accountability and transparency would encourage public participation in governance, citing his experience in Gombe to buttress his points. His words, “in Gombe, our deliberate attempt at putting in place, transparent policies and accountable processes helped us in achieving more with less. Education is our topmost priority. We reconstructed 1,160 classrooms, constructed 784 new ones in various schools across the state and built more than 70 new schools across the state. We have thus greatly increased access to education.”

    In business, he said, “in spite of the location of Gombe state being close to the hotbed of terrorism, our state was able to provide attraction to investments due to the confidence and incentives we provide for economic activities as many companies have found Gombe attractive. I wish to assure you that any state governor that adheres strictly to the principles of transparency and accountability as enunciated in this lecture can proudly stand the storm as we did during Buhari Tsunami in Gombe state in 2015”, he boasted. Dr. Dankwambo is the only PDP governor in the Northeast of Nigeria.

    The soft-spoken politician who later commissioned the 54-suite Post Graduate hall of residence built by UIAA promised to assist in furnishing the hall,  just as he donated handsomely to the activities of the association. He was later bedecked with an award as well as honorary membership of the UIAA. Earlier, the UIAA National President, Dr.Kemi Emina had described the governor as an excellent state chief executive who achieved so much with the little resources by judiciously administering the state in a transparent manner.

    Apart from the twin issues of accountability and transparency, takeaway from the lecture include: that state governors are not expected to personalize the common resources and recklessly fritter them away. Perhaps, his accountancy training may be responsible for this as it is believed that “accountants are stingy and always unwilling to splurge.”

    Another lesson from this lecture is that, whoever must be elected into public office must be sufficiently educated. Poor leadership has been variously cited as one of Nigeria’s problems, predicated on inadequate intellectualism. Some of those who are in political positions don’t read. We need enlightened minds in leadership positions. Gov. Dankwambo is a good example here. He has been to four different universities in search of knowledge. Consequently, his presentation at UI’s lecture  was breath-taking in its range and reach, and his delivery was magisterial and compelling. Probably, this is one of the reasons he wants to be President in 2019. I think he has the required intellectual capacity.

    Above all, I think the UIAA National President, Dr. Kemi Emina must be commended for fishing out Gov. Dankwambo to deliver the lecture. Dr. Emina has achieved so much by leveraging on his personal goodwill to add value to the university of Ibadan. His achievements, including the building of the 54-suite hall of residence speak volumes of his passion for his alma mater.

    • Saanu is Media Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan.

  • UI praises Fed Govt on post-UTME screening

    The Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan (UI), Prof Idowu Olayinka, has said Federal Government’s decision to lift the ban on post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) screening by universities has enhanced the quality of intakes and graduates of the premier university.

    He described the decision as the best thing to happen to the nation’s tertiary education in recent times.

    Olayinka said the conduct of Post-UTME had been validated by a scientific study conducted by researchers at UI.

    The vice chancellor said there was an unimaginable discrepancy between the scores of candidates and their performances at the end of their first year when UI was using only JAMB scores.

    Olayinka, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, noted that some candidates, who were admitted with high JAMB scores, were asked to withdraw from the university after their first year because of poor performance.

    He noted that since the conduct of the post-UTME screening, the percentage of those graduating with Second Class Upper had increased while those asked to withdraw had reduced.

    The vice chancellor said 328 out of the 408 students recently asked to withdraw from the university were in the 2016/2017 set, which did not undergo the post-UTME screening due to Federal Government’s ban on the exercise.

    Olayinka urged the Federal Government to allow its policy formulation to be guided by empirical research.

    He said: “Our decision at the university to have another level of test after JAMB examination was borne out of our experience over the years on the quality of students admitted to the university. When UI was admitting solely on JAMB scores, unimaginable discrepancies were observed in the JAMB scores of candidates and their performance in their first year.

    “We found candidates with high JAMB scores of over 250 being asked to withdraw from the university at the end of the first year on account of very poor performance. Since the 2002/2003 session, when the percentage withdrawal hit an all-time high of 12 per cent, the percentage has been dropping to as low as 1.9 per cent recorded in the 2014/2015 session. The quality has also reflected in the class of students at the end of the first year.

    “The percentage of students that were in the Second Class honours (Upper Division) category and above increased from 17.9 per cent in the 2003/2004 session to 41.1 per cent in the 2014/2015 session. The experience at the University of Ibadan is typical of the situation in institutions where post-UTME tests were conducted.

    “What we have now in the university system are students who are qualified to be in universities and who have the intelligence to withstand the rigours of academic work. That 408 are being expelled from UI further lent credence to the credibility of UI model of screening.

    “Possibly, the more qualified would have passed the test and gained admission rather than those with high JAMB scores having an edge over those with low JAMB. A study conducted by some academics on this has been published in the Ibadan Journal of Social Sciences. In other words, policies ought to be driven by research, not on political considerations or sentiments.”

     

  • UI withdraws 408 students for poor performance

    FOur hundred and eight students of the University of Ibadan (UI) have been asked to withdraw from the institution for failure to meet the minimum academic requirements.

    The Senate ratified the withdrawal at its meeting where results of graduating and non-graduating students were considered and approved.

    Investigations showed that three-quarter of those asked to leave the university were those in 100 level, who were admitted into the university without writing the post-UTME screening examinations.

    The university admitted 3,483 for the 2016/2017 session when there was opposition to the conduct of post-UTME screening.

    The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Adeyinka Aderinto, in an interview with reporters in Ibadan, said the university would continue to uphold its standard despite dwindling funding by adhering to global standards.