The vice chancellor of University of Lagos,(UNILAG) Akoka, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, has declared that though 2023 was a bit tough and challenging, the university still made some progress.
She said this at a recent media forum organised by the university with some top management staff of the institution in attendance..
According to her, 2023 was somehow tough in many respects for Nigerian education sector generally and this is not unconnected to the general economic situation of the country.
Ogunsola revealed that Nigerian universities generally have many of their academic staff, both young and old, leaving the country in drove for greener pastures abroad even as how they would be able to sustain their funding has been another serious challenge for them.
She noted that public universities in Nigeria are known for generation of knowledge and ideas to solve societal problems and not for profit making.
Speaking about UNILAG, Professor Ogunsola stated that apart from the general financial challenges and long-stay on one salary since 2009, the university is also faced with inadequate staff quarters as many of its staff members could not be accommodated on campus and having equally experienced until lately, frequent attacks on its property.
However, despite these challenges, she pointed out that the university had made a steady progress in the last one year.
She revealed that the university was able to win over N11 billion in research grants and awards from local and international organisations within the year and also gave out scholarship to no fewer than 750 of its indigent students and engaged about 170 of them in work-study programme.
She restated that no student of the university would drop out of school based on any financial-related matter, stressing that lots of measures have been put in place to address such issue.
While also pointing out that UNILAG has been able to bring the operations of its Business School (ULBS) in line with the global best practice, she noted that the status of the school can now stand parallel with the School of Postgraduate Colleges anywhere globally.
She added, “We have also been able to upgrade some of our hostels to give our students more comfort while renovation works are ongoing on in other hostels where such is necessary even as new hostels are about to spring up.”
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