The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UNILAG

  • UNILAG to probe fire incident

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is to set up a panel of enquiry to probe the fire that claimed the life of Alhaji Kaka Kyari Abba Kaza, former auditor-general of Borno State, on Wednesday at the institution’s guest house.

    The Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, Mr Toyin Adebule told The Nation Friday that the panel should be inaugurated next week.

    “We plan to set up a panel to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the fire,” Adebule said.

    The late Kyari was in the entourage of the Shehu of Borno, who was installed as the Chancellor of the university on Thursday during its 2014/2015 convocation.

    However, he died of suffocation as a result of smoke inhalation from a fire suspected to have been caused by a power surge around 2am on Wednesday morning.

    The fire affected four rooms, A12, A13, A14 and A15 at the guest house.

    Adebule said that the university sent a condolence letter with the Chancellor’s entourage to Borno yesterday.

    The Chancellor’s installation went as planned despite the death.

    The deceased was buried on Thursday according to Islamic rights.

  • Borno monarch’s brother dies in UNILAG’s guest house fire

    Borno monarch’s brother dies in UNILAG’s guest house fire

    Former Borno State Auditor-General Mallam Abba Kyari, who came to Lagos on Tuesday with Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garba El-Kanemi, is dead.

    Kyari died in a fire which engulfed Room A12 of the guest house in which he lodged with others.

    He was in the entourage of the emir, who was installed as University of Lagos (UNILAG) Chancellor yesterday.

    Kyari’s body has been flown back home for burial.

    The fire, it was learnt, was caused by a lit cigarette. It reportedly started around 2am when those in the room were asleep.

    “The incident happened  yesterday morning at the guest house. There is a rumour that the fire was ignited by a lit cigarette,” a source said.

    Confirming the incident, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Zonal Coordinator Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. He said the fire affected rooms A12 to A15, adding that the rooms are on the third floor of the complex.

    “The building was fully occupied because of the convocation ceremony today (yesterday). We do not know the cause of the fire yet but emergency responders acted swiftly and we were able to contain the situation within 30 minutes.

    “Unfortunately, the brother of the Shehu died before help got to him. He suffocated,” he said.

  • Utilise your gifts well, Buhari tells UNILAG

    Utilise your gifts well, Buhari tells UNILAG

    President Muhammadu Buhari has advised the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and other universities to take advantage of their natural endowments to add to the economic development of their states and the nation.

    He said this yesterday in his address as the Visitor on the final day of the three-day convocation.

    The President, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, said Unilag is “blessed” given its proximity to the Lagos Lagoon.

    He said: “UNILAG and other universities must  continue to define their unique roles in relation to the objectives that birthed them and with respect to impacting their environment.

    “The University must therefore, in close consultation with the NUC, begin to develop new Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) at postgraduate levels for such programmes as Tourism Hospitality Industry and Management, which could leverage on the huge number of people who visit or transit through Lagos State daily and the aesthetic and commercial values of the Lagoon/Ocean shoreline.

    “Your immediate natural environment lends itself to the study of such environmentally relevant subjects, such as oceanography, deep-sea and marine science and general sea-faring and marine transportation.

    “In this endeavour, government advocates a new partnership- Federal Government-State government-Private Sector-host community.”

    President Buhari blamed his absence on the number of universities of which he is Visitor and the absence of appropriate technology to shorten his trip.

    He said he hoped to leverage on technology in respect of video conferencing to ensure his televised presence at such occasions in the future.

    The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garba El-Kanemi, advised the graduating students to contribute their quota to the nation’s progress and development.

    He spoke after his installation as the university’s Chancellor. He said: “You are the future leaders of this great, diverse, united and indivisible country.

    “Be good and patriotic citizens and indeed, pillars of the nation’s growth and development.”

    The monarch said he was happy to have been installed as the seventh Chancellor in the same month marking his seventh year on the throne.

    The ceremony was attended by dignitaries, including the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, Emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi, Borno State Deputy Governor Ali Idoma, members of the House of Representatives and vice-chancellors.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, said the institution is training 33 graduate students under the ECOWAS Postgraduate Mobility Scheme for the training of graduate students in West Africa.

    He pledged his support for the Chancellor, terming his installation as “a square peg in a square hole”.

    The institution graduated 10,907 students for the 2014/2015 academic session.

    At yesterday’s ceremony, 5,435 postgraduate students, comprising 71 PhDs, 4,973 masters and 391 diplomas, received their scroll.

    The best PhD thesis was won by Dr Kolapo Muyiwa Oyebola, PhD Biochemistry, Parasitology and Bioinformatics.

      Dr Philomena Ibezie won the best PhD thesis in the humanities.

  • Here comes UNILAG’S ‘wonder boy’ Dada

    Here comes UNILAG’S ‘wonder boy’ Dada

    Ayodele Daniel Dada has been in the limelight since he made history as the first student to graduate from the University of Lagos with a 5.00 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).  His lecturers and colleagues have been reacting  to his feat, which he says  he achieved “by setting small goals of doing well each semester.”  He promises many more to come report KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE and OLUWATOYIN ADELEYE.

    Since he made history as the first student with the best result ever at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Ayodele Daniel Dada, 29, has been on the centre stage.

    The 29-year old scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00 to emerge the institution’s overall best graduating student for the 2014/2015 academic session.

    Dada graduated on Tuesday; he was showered with praises and awards for his feat.

    He bested all others who also made first class. Five were from his department, Psychology and 177 from other departments.

    Getting to that height was not easy.  Dada said he set his eyes on the goal to prove whether indeed it was achievable. He said he achieved it by setting small goals of doing well each semester.

    “I remember when I started Psychology somebody said it is impossible to get a 5.00 in a university.  And then I said ‘let’s test how strong that impossibility is’. That is not to say that I am the most courageous person in the world but I believe in testing the resolve of impossibility. Let’s see how strong they have earned the right to remain; let’s test their will to survive,” he said.

    For his feat, the Vice Chancellor (VC), Prof Rahamon Bello, described  Dada as “the wonder boy” during Tuesday’s convocation.  He congratulated him on “setting a record for others to meet”.

    Prof Solomon Akinboye, Dean of Postgraduate School, and Prof Samuel Iyiola Oni, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, acknowledged that Dada must have worked hard to earn the score.

    Underscoring the achievement, Akinboye said: “This person has broken a record, not only in the faculty but in UNILAG by making 5.0. This means ‘A’s all through – including the GS courses, so it is monumental,” he said.

    Oni said Dada brought honour and fame to him as dean, the department, and others.  “It is not an easy task. There must have been an element of hard work,” he said.

    While many are praising Dada’s achievements, others are skeptical about the possibility of making the perfect score. Some lecturers admitted that the university may have produced a 5.00 point result even before now – if their colleagues had not stopped it.

    Prof Ibinabo Agiobu-Kemmer, Head of Psychology Department, said some people within the university wanted to dampen her excitement by claiming that Dada might have been helped by his lecturers. She said he was only noticed to be on the road to 5.00 after his third year in the university.  She praised the lecturers of the department and others who taught Dada outside the department for not stopping the feat, unlike elsewhere.

    She said: “One person in church instead of congratulating me said people were saying that we did ojoro (cheated).  How can we?  All of us stumbled on the 5.0, I think after their third year – even in the Board of Studies I think – and I said ‘wow, here is somebody scoring 5.0.’  And all of us differently… we did not know.  I want to thank my colleagues and teachers in the department of Psychology that you saw excellence and rewarded it and appropriately graded it.

    “Ayodele, you are not the first that would attain this.  I have heard of one or two other candidates who were very close. But some lecturers gave them a B.  The lady said, ‘no but I got an A in this course.’ But the lecturer said: ‘You want to get everything?’  Even in the last one year, when we all discovered, we were praying that he would make it. I am sure they have checked to see whether we made a mistake somewhere.”

    Prof Omololu Soyombo of Sociology Department and former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences said the Psychology Department should be lauded for encouraging Dada, and for being an example to others if they find students that are brilliant.

    “I want to commend the Department of Psychology and the staff.  They should be examples to us all,” he said.

    To his fellow graduands, Dada’s achievement transcends the normal. Many told The Nation during the convocation that he had to be super human to have achieved A grades in all his courses from first year till graduation.

    Adetomiwa Adewumi of Linguistics Department said he must have been helped by the Almighty.

    “To me, he is not an ordinary person because studying in this school is not easy. To be at the top of the class like that is also not easy. I am sure he put God first and that was why he achieved it because it was not just by his efforts but God’s.”

    Dada’s classmate, Olalekan Sulaimon, said he learnt from his achievement that anything is possible.

    “I learnt from Ayo’s achievement that impossibility is nothing. Anything is possible. He is a social person to a reasonable extent. Seventy per cent of his time is devoted to his studies and the remaining 30 per cent he split among various social and spiritual aspects. He is always ready to teach people and he gets very happy when the person he is teaching understands.”

    Benita Ebule, who graduated from  Philosophy Department, said Dada must have been committed to his studies.

    “It is not easy to graduate from this university, not to talk of having ‘A’s all through. I admire him so much. I wish him all the best. He must have been committed to his studies as well as determined,” she said.

    Another Philosophy graduate, Alabi Iyabo, said of the feat: “I am very happy for him. For the fact that he broke the record is amazing. I am overwhelmed by it. 5.0 is not small. I don’t know him personally but he must have been highly focused.”

    His peers may think of him as a genius.  But Dada said his challenges while in school were not just restricted to making good grades.  He described his story as one full of ups and downs.

    For instance, he constantly fought a battle at the home front for choosing a course not favoured by his parents.

    “I wasn’t always the best academically while growing up but I was always among the best. There were many challenges, financial and otherwise. My family was not always on good terms with me. I was not always seen as the best child or the one they were always proud of in my family. For example, a course like Psychology is not well-known or recommended, and most parents want their children to do things that are main stream like engineering, law, medicine, etc. So when I told my parents I wanted to study psychology, it took a lot of efforts to convince them that this is what I want to do and I can do it well,” Dada said.

    Choosing to study Psychology was something Dada did because he was fascinated about the mind and how people think, and not just to get into school. He even turned down his first admission to study Engineering because of it.

    He said: “All through my life, I have been fascinated about how people think and I realised that once I enter any book store, the first thing my eye catches would be a book on or related to Psychology. I cared about the mind and I could be devoted to those books for hours, when others would have got tired of it. So that informed my choice of studying psychology.’’

    Just like he tested the impossibility of making 5.00 as a student, Dada is ready to test a lot of norms in the society as a professional.

    “Conformity is a terrible thing when you allow it to guide you. Conformity never breeds excellent people. You must be ready to do things differently and see the world in a different view from others. You will have opposition but if you are ready to make the necessary sacrifices, challenge what everyone says is impossible, test the result of impossibilities, ask questions and always listen, you will get it right. Listen, focus and be ready to learn from anybody. When I ask my colleagues to explain things to me sometimes, they would feel they are not in the position to but I let them know that I can learn from them too,” he said.

  • Unilag ‘inherits’ N72m, gets N100m in donations

    Unilag ‘inherits’ N72m, gets N100m in donations

    University of Lagos (UNILAG) Vice Chancellor Prof Rahamon Bello has said two endowments worth N36 million each have been bequeathed to the university by the late Mrs. Abimbola Aina Omololu-Mulele in her will and testament.

    He broke the news yesterday in his convocation address on the second day of the University’s three-day convocation and award ceremony for the 2014/2015 session.

    He said: “The two endowments, totalling N72 million, are in form of annual lectures named: Abimbola Aina Omololu-Mulele Annual Lecture in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Ladipo Mobolaji Abisogun-Afodu Annual Lecture in Pharmacy.”

    Bello added that the institution partnered an automobile company, R.T. Briscoe, to build a world standard automobile workshop to provide training for mechanical engineering students.

    There is also another partnership with LG Air Conditioning World Wide to train engineering students in the newly established LG Air-Conditioning Academy of the university.

    Bello added: “ N50 million was donated by the Lagos State government to the university’s endowment fund to institute the Lagos State Professorial Chair in Tax and Fiscal matters.

    “Similarly, an endowment of N52,904,000 was formally presented by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA Group, Mr Phillips Oduoza, to the university towards the resuscitation of the UBA Professorial Chair of Finance.”

    The 54-year-old institution, which graduated 2,887 undergraduates from seven faculties yesterday and 2,585 on Tuesday would also graduate 5,435 post graduate students today.

    Of the 2,887 graduates of the faculties of Basic Medical Sciences, Business Administration, Clinical Sciences, Dental Sciences, Engineering, Law, Pharmacy and Distance Learning Institute (DLI), 122 made First Class, 757 Second Class Upper, 1,250 Second Class Lower Division, 490 Third Class, 247 passed with degrees not classified in medical disciplines and pharmacy and 31 Pass degrees.

    The Pro-Chancellor, Prof Jerry Gana, congratulated the graduands and urged them to be just and fair leaders.

    He said: “You have worked hard to acquire knowledge and skills. Please use them to serve our great nation.

    “As you do this, remember the following: add wisdom to knowledge; be light and not darkness.

    “Light shines to show the way. Darkness covers to shield destruction. As a graduate of Unilag, shine wherever you are. If it is not right, don’t do it. If it is not true, don’t say it.

    “Peace is a product of justice, so ensure fairness and justice in leadership.

    “Remember that wisdom is superior to knowledge. We raised you not to be part of the problems of Nigeria but part of the solutions.”

  • UNILAG graduates student with 5.0 GPA

    UNILAG graduates student with 5.0 GPA

    Daniel Dada Ayodele will be the star to watch out for during the 2014/2015 convocation of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) next week.

    He made a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00, which the Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, described as a perfect score record at a pre-convocation briefing yesterday.

    Bello said the Psychology student is one of the 178 First Class students who will graduate during the three-day convocation.

    “This year, a record has been set. A graduating student in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ayodele Daniel Dada, is graduating with a CGPA of 5.0.

    “A perfect score; this means he scored As in all courses he took in the programme. I congratulate Mr Dada and the staff of the Department of Psychology for the feat,” he said.

    A total of 10,907 students, comprising 5,472 undergraduates and 5,435 postgraduates, will graduate during the three-day convocation.

    With this, the university is almost achieving parity in the ratio of undergraduates to graduate students.  Its aim is to train more postgraduate students.

    Of the first degree recipients, 1,617 will bag Second Class Upper degrees; 2,496, Second Class Lower; 884, Third Class, and 50, Pass.

    Another 274 from the Medical Sciences and Pharmacy will graduate with unclassified degrees.

    Of the 5,435 postgraduate students, 391 are getting  Post Graduate Diplomas (PGD), 5,973 Masters and 71 PhDs.

    The convocation will start on Monday with a lecture titled: “Positioning Nigeria as the Technology Hub of Africa” to be delivered by Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Ogbonaya Onu.

    It will end on Thursday with the installation of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibu Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, as the Seventh Chancellor.

    Prof. Bello said the Faculty of Engineering topped the lot with 41 First Class degrees.

    Bello said the management had recorded huge success in its stride to uplift its standard.

    “Today, our environment is one of the cleanest of all the institutions in Nigeria, as we have begun waste sorting and this is yielding results.

    “All our classrooms and laboratories are now comparable with any first rated university worldwide.

    “Research equipment and facilities are now being modernised and research activities are taking new dimensions.

    “Our internalisation efforts are also yielding fruits, despite the social challenges in Nigeria,’’ he said.

    The VC added that the university is hosting 33 postgraduate students from various West African countries, under the ECOWAS Academic Mobility Scheme.

    He said students exchange programme with some Canadian and Chinese universities was in the offing.

  • UNILAG produces first graduate with 5.0 CGPA

    UNILAG produces first graduate with 5.0 CGPA

    Daniel Dada Ayodele, will be the star to watch out for during the 2014/2015 Convocation of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) next week.

    He made a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00, which the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Rahamon Bello described as a perfect score record during a pre-convocation briefing Wednesday.

    Bello said the Psychology student  is one of the 178 First Class students ‎that would graduate during the three-day convocation programme. ‎

    This year, a record has been set. A graduating student in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mr Ayodele Daniel Dada is graduating with a CGPA of 5.00.

    “A perfect score. This means he scored As in all courses he took in the programme. I congratulate the graduate with a First Class‎.”

    The first time in the history‎ in what seems to be the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria’s education system, the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, will this year graduate a student who has been graded  ‘excellent’ in all the courses taken while on campus.

    The student, Ayodele Daniel Dada finished from the Department of Psychology.

    This was disclosed Wednesday morning by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, during a pre-convocation media briefing held at the university’s Senate Chamber.

    According to the VC, the university was glad to break another academic ground, saying the candidate showed exceptional academic prowess.

    He said a total of 10,907 students will be graduating including 5,472 undergraduates and 5,435 postgraduates, adding that a total of 177 others will be bagging First Class degree‎ certificates along with Dada.

    The convocation programmes, which has formally kicked off with the media briefing will also feature a convocation lecture to be delivered by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu on Monday, February 28.

  • Low-key protest continues at UNILAG

    Low-key protest continues at UNILAG

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) medical students, who were forced to change to other departments, have suspended their protest yesterday to allow the school management resolve the issues.

    The Students’ Union Government (SUG) President Muhammed Olaniyan said management had promised to meet with representatives of the students and Provost of the College of medicine to “see what can be done”.

    Olaniyan said: “The students have suspended their demonstration after our meeting with management. They affected students also promised to meet with the medical college provost and get back to us. We are yet to hear from them as I speak to you. I believe we are making progress in helping them get the situation resolved.”

    The protest was suspended after the affected students besieged the school gate and Amphitheatre, displaying placards with inscription, such as “This is injustice; stop the crime” and “Don’t try to exchange our future”, among others.

    Olaniyan, who met with the students at the university gate, led them to seek audience with the Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof Babatunde Babawale.

  • YABATECH students protest colleague’s death

    YABATECH students protest colleague’s death

    •UNILAG medical students reject course change

    Academic and other activities were grounded at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, yesterday following students’protest over the death of a final year student, Comfort Olubukola Dazan.

    Dazan, who had sickle cell anaemia, reportedly died, following a crisis.

    Her colleagues claimed that Dazan, who was studying Office Technology Management, might not have died if she had not been rejected at the medical centre where she was rushed when she collapsed at midnight. They also faulted the institution for not helping to raise the N35, 000 deposit demanded by the hospital she was taken to from the clinic.

    They said they paid for medicals but do not get value for their money. They said the late Dazan’s father has stroke; the mother has a bad leg.

    They regretted that the late Dazan, who was the best student in her class with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.93 died on the day she was to start her practical examination.

    One student, who refused to give his name, told The Nation that the medical centre treated Dazan shabbily even in death.

    He said: “The school clinic did not take the body to the mortuary immediately. They put the body in the ambulance and then back to the clinic and did not even clean the body up as it was stained with vomit and excreta; so students got angry and started protesting. Two other students even fainted today (yesterday)”.

    The students presented a 10-point demand to the Rector, Dr Margaret Ladipo and took her round the school to show her bad structures. ýAt the rector’s premises, they saw two parked ambulances and asked what they were doing there.

    The rector appealed for calm, but when some security agents shot into the air, the students got angry and burnt down the clinic.

    The students also blocked the college’s gates, causing traffic gridlock in its environs, especially on Herbert Macaulay Road, where they burnt tyres.

    They asked for two-week mourning for the late Dazan and postponement of examinations, lectures and practical.

    Their other demands included: visit and payment of compensation to the bereaved family; autopsy by forensic experts on cause of death; re-instatement of the student union; fumigation of hostels, classrooms and laboratory facilities each session; rehabilitation of toilet and hostel facilities, among others.

    In a statement, the school’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Charles Oni, refuted claims that the late Dazan was neglected.

    He said she had been under the clinic’s care days before her death, adding that she was discharged to allow her prepare for her practical examinations, which started yesterday.

    Oni said: “She had developed a crisis in the afternoon of Tuesday, February 9, 2016 and was temporarily on admission at the College Medical Centre under close watch of the Centre’s Management. She was however discharged when her condition became stable so that she could prepare for her examination today, Wednesday, February 10, 2016. Practical examinations began round the College last Monday as a precursor to the main general examination scheduled for Monday, February 15.

    “The late Dazan’s crisis relapsed around midnight and her room mates rushed her back to the medical centre where precautionary medical attention was given to her, with a promise to refer her to Federal Medical Centre at Ebute Meta as soon as day break.”Oni claimed the students cashed in her death to pressure the institution to postpone the examination which begins “fully” next week.

    “ýStudents immediately cashed in on the death of the late Dazan to engage in opportunistic clamour for the extension of the semester. They demanded for the extension of the semester for two weeks contrary to the College calendar.

    Unfortunately, many students do not prepare for examination until such examinations are a week or three days away, and customarily, they always plead for extension until the Management put a stop to such opportunism about two years ago. The hydra-headed clamour sprang up again Wednesday because of the death of Miss Dazan. “

    A lecturer, who is a member of the college’s academic board, said the board was meeting at the time of the protest, adding that the students restricted movement within and out ofý the college.

    ”We were meeting during the protest. The students did not allow us to go in or come out. They wanted the board to shift the examination immediately,” he said.

    Dazan’s remains were buried at Atan Cemetery, Yaba, yesterday.

    Meanwhile, there was tension at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) yesterday when medicine students protested against what they called “forceful change of our courses”.

    The students and their parents disrupted activities at the university from 2pm till late, yesterday to get the university to address the issue.

    For over one week, the students have been gathering at the university for resolution of the matter.

    Things came to a head yesterday when the students and their parents besieged the Senate Building, following the re-distribution of students to departments in the faculties of science, social sciences, and education.

    The students, called cross-over students, comprised those admitted through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the university’s Foundation Programme, and Direct Entry. After spending one sessiono in the Akoka  Campus, the students were to continue their studies at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) at Idi-Araba, subject to meeting the requirements.

    The students alleged that three weeks to the end of their second semester, the requirements were changed.

    A student simply called Anthony said the sub dean of the Science Faculty,  Dr Ade Ademilua, told them of the possibility of changes in the cut off marks.

    He said: “When we resumed 100-Level,  they sold a prospectus to us showing all our cut off marks.  For my department,  they said with a minimum average score of 50 percent in my three core,  physical, chemical and biological sciences, we could proceed to 200-Level. Then just three weeks before exam last semester,  the sub dean,  Dr Ade Ademilua told us that they may change the Cumulative Grade Pont Average (CGPA). There was no official notice or written notice to the effect. Then the list of those who made it into 200-Level was supposed to be released in January as was done for sets before ours but they delayed ours until February and changed so many people’s departments.”

    He said he found his name in the list for pharmacology department,  rather than his choice of surgery,  with his 3.75 CGPA and appealed to the school to allow him proceed to the medical school.

    Another protester, Tolani, said she was supposed to qualify for the promotion because she had a CGPA that was much higher than the one stated for her department in the prospectus.

    “What they gave for my department was 2.5 cgpa but now,  they have suddenly raised it to about 4.0. And they did not allow us proceed. That’s unfair! I think it is because the National Universities Commission (NUC  ) gave them a directive that they are making us suffer for it. We will protest until they give us what we deserve.”

    A student, who did not want her name in print, faulted the delay in announcing changes in the criterion.

    She said: “All of us admitted for medical courses were not told of the new assessment method. We were told after admission that we only needed to score 50 per cent in all the courses in the first year. Many of us scored beyond the average mark, but the school secretly introduced a new criterion. If they had told us in the first semester that our CGPA would be used, many of us would have studied hard.”

    In an interview with The Nation, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, said the university had been mandated by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to index all its medical students or lose accreditation. Consequently, he said the college could only admit 130 as against 150.

    “For a while, the college had not been indexing the students admitted for medicine. However, now the MDCN, which regulates the programme, is insisting on it. We can now only admit 130. Last year, students admitted from the Foundation programme got into the college with 13 points. But this year, we could only take those with 16 points,” he said.

    He assured the students that they would be absorbed by other departments where there is space.

    A statement from the university’s information unit directed the students to register their new courses on the university portal.

    The statement reads: “The health professions courses at the College of Medicine are regulated by their professional bodies, and these bodies regulate the numbers to be trained, to ensure the quality of the health workforce, based on the availability of facilities and resources.  They all, therefore, have quotas that are applied at the 200 level.

    “These quotas are now being enforced by the assignment of student index numbers when they cross over into the professional programmes in the College of Medicine.”

  • Let’s take basketball to grassroots – Otenigbagbe

    Former International and ex-coach of the First bank female basketball club, Ganiyu Otenigbagbe, last weekend called for the establishment of more sports academies as the House of Levi staged the third edition of its annual basketball tourney.

      Coach Otenigbagbe told Nationsports at the two-day basketball invitational competition which was held at the basketball court of the International School, Unilag (ISL) in Akoka, Lagos that academies have developmental effects on sports as well as help to discover and groom talents.

      “If you want to do anything for the growth of sports, you have to start from the grassroots. So I will like to encourage the establishments of more sports academies. Not just any kind of mushroom academies but organized academies with control. There are a good number of them around like what the house of Levi is doing in trying to discover talents. We also have the Youth Alive program, Warriors Academy as well as the defunct adopt-a-talent of the last administration in Lagos”, he said.

      However, players of the International School, University of Lagos (ISL) basketball team once again proved their mettle as they overran other contenders for the title at the third edition of the Basketball Rising Stars Invitational Competition.

      The competition which is popularly known as the Mountain of Fire Basketball competition is the third of its kind following its introduction in 2010 where Corona international school won, followed also by the 2012 edition where the ISL won the championship for the first time.

      This year’s championship tagged the rebirth was keenly contested by six schools including the host and defending champions ISL, Nigerian Airforce secondary school the first runner up, Victory Grammar School the second runner up, St. Gregs school, Nigeria-Turkish school and Strong Tower Academy.

      The obviously dejected captain of the second placed Airforce team, Ugwuezumba Justine expressed his dissatisfaction with the turn out of the game. “We were meant to win that game because from my observations, we were the superior side. My team played better on the offense and the defense too but I don’t know why we lost. Although I think we will have to work more on our offence and free throw as that could have helped us win”, he stated.

      On the other hand, Farawe Taiwo, captain of the victorious ISL side described their feat as a good come back from a defeat they suffered in another competition.

      “This was an important outing for us and it feels so great that we won the championship. It was like an opportunity to erase our quarter final knockout at recent competition. I will like to say that the winning factors for us are speed, stamina and strength.

      ISL’s Segun Balogun won the MVP award of the tournament and stated that his parents who were once active in sports motivate him. Ekeme Odo of the Air force team clinched the highest point scorer award.