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Tag: UNILORIN

  • Accreditation teams hail UNILORIN

    The Leaders of the National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation teams to the College of Health Sciences (COHS) and the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof M. T. Egri-Okwaji, and Prof. M. O. Edoga, have congratulated the management of the university for equipping the Clinical Skills and the Chemical Engineering laboratories.

    The dons gave the commendation while presenting the teams’ observations on their separate accreditation visits to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyuAmbali in his office.

    Egri-Okwaji noted that the Clinical Skills Laboratory has put   the University far ahead of many of its contemporaries, adding that the curriculum of the University is adequate. He also commended the university’s e-library and added that the facilities for members of staff were adequate.

    However, he advised the university to expand its lecture theatres.

    On his part, Edoga, who observed that running engineering programmes is capital intensive, said that what the university is doing with its Chemical Engineering programme is unique.

    Edoga also said that the department was not found wanting in terms of the academic content and encouraged them to purchase more equipment and expand classroom facilities.

    In his remarks at the end of the presentation, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof Y.M. Fakunle, thanked the teams for their objectivity and for what he called a “thorough, comprehensive in-depth report.”

     

     

     

  • Two firms to build UNILORIN’s 6,000-bed hostel

    Two estate agency firms have won a bid to construct 6,000-bed space for the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). Crossgate Designs and Hadrat Building and Estate Management Services have signed Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the management of the institution to deliver the project.

    While Crossgate proposed to build a 5,000-bed hostel, Hadrat will build 1,000-bed hostel to further lessen the accommodation challenge in the school.

    The representative of Crossgate, Mr Abdurauf Ojo, disclosed that the company intended to do the project in phases, saying 200-bed spaces would be completed by next February, while the whole project would be completed in 2016.

    The Hadrat Building and Estate Management Services presented a similar proposal through its Project Manager, Mr Z. Oladotun, who said his company had an impressive track record in building and civil engineering. He said the firm would comply with the regulations of the university.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof N.Y. Ijaiya, said the university was in need of accommodation for its students, urging the firms to adhere to the rules and regulations of the school.

    The university’s Director of Physical Planning Unit, Mr Ademola Adesiyun, said that the management was ready to take the developers to the site as soon as they submit their building plans, which must include the electrical design.

    Adesiyun noted that the university had a standard Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for all its partners to foster mutual agreement.

    The Director said the university was always keen about the quality of its buildings, because the structures are public facilities.

    Meanwhile, the university has begun discussions with an agricultural firm, Deen Crowns Farms and Dairy, to establish of a plantain plantation on campus.

  • 12,650 matriculate at UNILORIN

    No fewer than 12,650 freshers took the oath of matriculation at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) main auditorium during the institution’s matriculation ceremony.

    The freshers, all decked in blue academic gown, beamed with smiles as they moved into the auditorium amid excitement. The principal officers were led to the venue by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali.

    In his speech, Prof Ambali said of the 114,700 applicants, who applied to the university through direct entry and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), only 41,470 students met the minimum score of 180.

    The VC said the institution could only admit 12,601 of the successful candidates eligible for admission, which is 11 per cent of the total number of applicants. Out of the admitted students, 80 are international students. Faculty of Education has the highest number of freshers with, over 2,150 students admitted.

    Prof Ambali whose speech was titled: Arise and fly, advised the freshers not to engage in acts that could jeopardise their admission.

    He said: “Today is special in the lives of many of you, because it is a day some of you, if not all, have been longing for. As you take the oath of matriculation today, you have become a bonafide student of this great university with rights and privileges.”

    The Vice-Chancellor urged the students to be grateful to God, saying many qualified applicants could not be admitted because of the admission quota. He urged the freshers to adhere to the rules and regulations of the university, while also advising them to face their studies.

    “As students you must respect yourself, your colleague, your teachers and all university staffs. Don’t engage in examination malpractices or get yourself involved in acts that can jeopardise your admission. I believe you can fly and achieve success after your programmes with hard work and prayers. I urge you to rise up and fly higher,” he said.

    The oath was administered on the students by the Registrar, Mr Emmanuel Obafemi, who advised the freshers not to against the letters of the oath.

  • UNILORIN matriculates 12,650

    UNILORIN matriculates 12,650

    The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) yesterday matriculated 12,650 for its 2014/2015 academic session.

    One hundred and fourteen thousand, seven hundred students applied to the university for the session.

    Eighty of the matriculating students were international students, according to the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali.

    The vice chancellor gave the figures in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the matriculation ceremony.

    He said there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of admitted students from the last academic session of 8,591.

    He told the matriculating students to thank their stars and the university for considering worthy of being admitted.

    Ambali said: “Therefore, the first important thing is that you should be grateful to God, who makes everything possible; grateful to your parents and guardians, who have seen you to this stage.

    “I know some of you would wonder why you should be grateful to the university since you are qualified and your effort brought you here. The truth is that the university is creating more space for those who are qualified.

    “For example, only 8,591 students could be admitted last academic session but we have increased the space so that additional thousands were added above the number we admitted last session. As the saying goes, many are called but few are chosen.”

  • UNILORIN matriculates 12,650

    UNILORIN matriculates 12,650

    University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Monday matriculated no fewer than 12,650 for the 2014/2015 academic session.

    The total number of candidates that applied to the university for the session was 114, 700.

    80 of the matriculants are international students, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali has said.

    The vice chancellor made the remarks in speech during the matriculation ceremony in Ilorin.

    He said the number of students admitted was 11 percent increase from the last academic session of 8,591.

    He told the matriculating students to thank their stars and the University for considering them worthy of being admitted.

    According to him; “Therefore, the first important thing is that you should be grateful, grateful to God who makes everything possible; grateful to your parents and guardians, who have seen you to this stage.

    “I know some of you would wonder why you should be grateful to the university since you are qualified and your effort brought you here. The truth is that the university is creating more space for those who are qualified.

    “For example, only 8,591 students could be admitted last academic session but we have increased the space so that additional thousands were added above the number we admitted last session. As the saying goes, many are called but few are chosen.

    “My dear students, let me tell you that you are fortunate and pray that fortune will continue to come your. Over 114,000 students applied to this university, rated the best in Nigeria, 20th in Africa and one of the best in the world. That you are here today means that you have succeeded where over 100,000 thousand applicants to this university have failed.”

    Prof Ambali charged the students to eschew cultism, indecent dressing and other anti social behaviors while on campus; “though everyone with native wisdom and good conscience knows what is right and wrong, many people still find themselves on the wrong lane. The choices you make now eventually determine your future in this university.”

     

  • UNILORIN: Ex-VC regrets sacking 49 lecturers

    UNILORIN: Ex-VC regrets sacking 49 lecturers

    Erstwhile chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof Shuaib AbdulRaheem has regretted his action on the sacked 49 lecturers of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) during his tenure as the vice chancellor of the institution.

    The Supreme Court reinstated the sacked lecturers in 2009 eight years after their sack from the employ of the institution.

    Prof AbdulRaheem, who is also governorship aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state, told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital.

    The professor of literature who likened himself to a pediatrician, added that everybody had learnt his mistakes in the saga

    He said; “And you will find out that since all of those years there hasn’t been any such crisis. No Vice Chancellor has come to face the kind of crisis I faced because everybody has learnt their mistakes. So it is good that it happened but it is regrettable that lives have been stagnated because of that, but again, the reversal has healed the wounds and I hope it will help to heal the wounds by stopping people to refer to that and make them look at the positive things that came out of that disagreement.

    “The issue of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a past event, but of course, because it affected human beings it will continue to recur. It is only the negative mind that focuses on the negative things. Human being live and learn every day, we had cause to disagree with those gentlemen not because it was personal it was in defence of the institution to which we had sworn to uphold its integrity.

    “If along the line something happened and some people had to be sacrificed momentarily that was not borne out of my personal animosity or anger at them it was because that what the regulations of the university showed me at the time.

    “But the law of the land reversed that. So one minus one is zero, they got one we got one. In any case they are back at work and they are still doing well. In fact, they found a more peaceable conducive environment for themselves to live together with others.

    “If you say somebody was hurt I compare my public posture with that of a pediatrician who cares for babies, to whom ten mothers have brought sick children and he has applied his skills to cure nine then one died and the mother goes haywire and says the world is going to fall apart. For me, I don’t see that as a problem.

    “I am grateful I have been able to cure nine, so inevitably one had to die. Sometimes we win some and lose some that is what life is all about. Don’t let us keep going all over to the past especially the negative parts of the past. That is my take on the UNILORIN saga.”

     

  • UNILORIN as best university: An insider’s assessment

    The first on the list in Nigeria in terms of everything” were the apt words used in the description of the University of Ilorin by a former Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Prince Bola Ajibola, at a public lecture hosted by the university’s Law Students’ Society.

    That, perhaps, was his own way of joining forces with the growing endorsements of the university by other intellectuals from various walks of life.  So, it came as no surprise when 4ICU, an international higher education search engine and directory that reviews accredited universities and colleges across the world, announced the University of Ilorin as the best in Nigeria on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.

    I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu  Ambali  and his team, students and their parents ,  the government and people of Kwara State as well as other stakeholders in the university.

    This piece is aimed at highlighting some of the factors that in my view propelled the university to the top, with a view to not only making it hold the grips at the national level but also move forward at the international level.

    Students are no doubt at the receiving end of the fortune or otherwise of a university. It is therefore imperative that an insider bares the magic wand of a university that has managed to stand tall in a sector that has, in recent time, been receiving undesirable remarks.

    The University of Ilorin was one of the seven institutions of higher learning established by a decree of the Federal Military Government in August, 1975. It began as a university college affiliated to the University of Ibadan, the oldest university in Nigeria, with three faculties -Arts, Science and Education.  It gained full autonomy in October 1977 with the appointment of Prof O.O Akinkugbe as Vice Chancellor.  From three faculties in 1976, the university currently has 15 faculties and over 60 academic departments, over 20,000 students and a staff strength of about 4,000.

    The reasons the university has risen to great heights from humble beginnings are not far-fetched. Perhaps one of the most glaring factors is its refusal to join in the industrial action usually embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities which usually cripples the students’ academic year.  This was the policy initiated by Prof S. Oba Abdulraheem who maintained that the students do not deserve to suffer as a result of rifts between the lecturers and the federal government. Even after the completion of the tenure of the initiator, the principle has continued to remain as one of the reasons for the uniqueness of the university.

    This perhaps explains why it is the most sought after university in Nigeria.  Statistics released recently by the National Universities Commission and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board after the last Universities Matriculation Examinations showed that the University of Ilorin was the most subscribed university by admission seekers in the country with  over 105,000 candidates seeking admission for the university in 2014/2015 academic session.

    Another particularly important reason is its strong hold on discipline. The laws and rules of engagement have been explicitly stated and their enforcement are duly carried our without fear or favour.

    Examination malpractices, truancy, cultism and indecent dressing have been effectively reduced to the barest minimum among the students. This has created an atmosphere of discipline and has guaranteed that in an otherwise free and liberal environment, moral and legal restrictions exist. Students therefore comport themselves well because everyone is afraid of getting expelled or rusticated.

    Furthermore, the University of Ilorin pioneered the utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to facilitate learning and research.  It took the first steps towards conducting computer based exams and many higher institutions have followed suit. This has put it at par with other institutions of the world in which the ICT has almost replaced books and the pen.  To further foster the use of ICT, the university   gave all the new students of 2013/2014 session PC tablets for faster internet access.

    In its quest to provide competitive environment for academic excellence, the university also awards students with outstanding academic performances. The students are decorated as the scholars of the university and are given among others free hostels, stipend as well as honours of participating in the major university activities in academic gowns along with the lecturers.

    The university is blessed with highly dedicated members of staff who relate with students not only as teachers but also as trusted guardians.   Efforts are ever on-going on infrastructural development including class rooms, libraries, laboratories and most especially student’s hostels all of which have made the campus environment conducive for learning.

    This is however not to say that there are no rooms for improvement. In order to rise in its world ranking which currently holds as 1,842nd, a lot has to be done.  The academic calendar in terms of teaching, examination, and result publication should be timely.

    Entrepreneurship which has begun its elementary stages in the school should be aggressively continued with involvement of students to create industries within the school to enable it have the facilities of a functional state, which is a key characteristic of top universities of the world.

    The culture of impunity which has become a norm in the larger society should not be given a chance within the university premises.  Every student should be treated equally so as to maintain equity and justice.

    Opportunity for exchange programme with universities that are among the first ten in the world should be established for lecturers and students in such a manner that academic contents, teachers and even transfer to attend lectures for some semesters will be practiced.

     

    Hawau, 200-Level Law, UNILORIN

  • Herdsmen pose security threat to UNILORIN, says VC

    Herdsmen pose security threat to UNILORIN, says VC

    •UNILORIN ranked 1,842nd in the world

    The Vice-Chancellor the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, has said encroachment by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle is posing “serious security threat” to the institution.

    He urged the Federal Government to fence the university.

    The professor of veterinary medicine spoke with reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on the institution’s 30th convocation lecture.

    He said for the first time in history, a Nigerian university was ranked 20th in Africa and 1,842nd in the world.

    The vice chancellor said: “I am happy to restate that a remarkable thing happened to the Nigerian university system this year, courtesy of UNILORIN. For the first time since ranking began, a Nigerian university was ranked among the best 2,000 universities in the world. The latest ranking of international colleges and universities places the university first in Nigeria, 20th in Africa and the 1,842nd in the world.

    “Though we are not satisfied to occupy the position we are on the global stage until we are ranked within the best 200, the achievement of the university will be underscored when it is realised that 11,307 colleges and universities are sampled in the ranking in 200 countries. The United States alone, not to talk of other advanced countries, has much more that 3,000 universities.

    “The modest work being done at the university has made it the darling of admission applicants in Nigeria; the university was the eighth most preferred in 2011 and fifth most preferred in 2012. Last year, we became the 2nd most preferred university in Nigeria and this year we became the number one choice of applicants with over 105,000 applicants, the second most preferred university having 74,000 applicants.”

    On his administration’s achievements, Ambali said: “We have embarked on 10,000 hectares of oil palm plantation. We all know that the Malaysian economy relies much on oil palm and there is a report that they took the seed from Nigeria a few decades ago.

    “However, our country imports about 500,000 metric tonnes of palm oil annually while Malaysia exported about 24 trillion metric tonnes of palm oil in 2012 to the United States, the European Union, China and India. The export earned the country some 20 billion pound sterling (about N5.314 trillion).”

    The vc put the number of graduating students at 6,328, with 5,438 getting first degrees and 890 higher degrees/diploma.

    He said: “In the first degree category, 48 made first class; 1,290 second class upper; 2,814 second class lower; 1,067 third class; 84 pass; 18 diplomas and 217 MBBS.”

  • Herdsmen pose security threat to UNILORIN, says VC

    Herdsmen pose security threat to UNILORIN, says VC

    •UNILORIN ranked 1,842nd in the world

    The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, has said encroachment by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle is posing “serious security threat” to the institution.

    He urged the Federal Government to fence the university.

    The professor of veterinary medicine spoke with reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on the institution’s 30th convocation lecture.

    He said for the first time in history, a Nigerian university was ranked 20th in Africa and 1,842nd in the world.

    The vice chancellor said: “I am happy to restate that a remarkable thing happened to the Nigerian university system this year, courtesy of UNILORIN. For the first time since ranking began, a Nigerian university was ranked among the best 2,000 universities in the world. The latest ranking of international colleges and universities places the university first in Nigeria, 20th in Africa and the 1,842nd in the world.

    “Though we are not satisfied to occupy the position we are on the global stage until we are ranked within the best 200, the achievement of the university will be underscored when it is realised that 11,307 colleges and universities are sampled in the ranking in 200 countries. The United States alone, let alone other advanced countries, has more than 3,000 universities.

    “The modest work being done at the university has made it the darling of applicants in Nigeria; the university was the eighth most preferred in 2011 and fifth most preferred in 2012. Last year, we became the 2nd most preferred university in Nigeria and this year we became the number one choice of applicants with over 105,000 applicants, the second most preferred university having 74,000 applicants.”

    On his administration’s achievements, Ambali said: “We have embarked on 10,000 hectares of oil palm plantation. We all know that the Malaysian economy relies much on oil palm and there is a report that they took the seed from Nigeria a few decades ago.

    “However, our country imports about 500,000 metric tonnes of palm oil annually while Malaysia exported about 24 trillion metric tonnes of palm oil in 2012 to the United States, the European Union, China and India. The export earned the country some 20 billion pound sterling (about N5.314 trillion).”

    The vc put the number of graduating students at 6,328, with 5,438 first degree and 890 higher degree/diploma holders.

    He said: “In the first degree category, 48 made first class; 1,290 second class upper; 2,814 second class lower; 1,067 third class; 84 pass; 18 diplomas and 217 MBBS.”

  • UNILORIN produces 48 First Class graduates

    UNILORIN produces 48 First Class graduates

    Forty-eight graduates of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) will be awarded First Class degree certificates at the 30th Convocation on October 30.

    In a statement, the institution’s Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, said 5,421 students would receive first degree certificates in various disciplines.

    One thousand, one hundred and ninety (1,190) are graduating with Second Class Upper; 2,814 with Second Class Lower; 1,068 with Third Class and 84 with pass.

    Eighteen Diploma graduates, 642 Master graduands, 106 Ph.D graduates and 142 Postgraduate Diploma graduands will also receive their certificates.