The University Management has assured all stakeholders and the nation at large, of its readiness for a successful commencement of the 2011/2012 Academic Session.
Giving the assurance in separate chats with UNAAB Bulletin, are the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Professor Toyin Arowolo, the University’s Acting Librarian, Dr. (Mrs.) Mulikat Salaam, the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Sam Oluwalana.
Others are the Director, Academic Planning, Professor Adekojo Waheed, the Director, Institute for Human Resources Development (INHURD), Prof. O. B. Kehinde, the outgoing Chairman, Management Committee on Transportation (MANCOT), Dr. Joe Atungwu and the President of the Students Union, Mr. Abdul-Kareem Babadimeji Bamigbade.
Academic
According to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Arowolo, “this University is fully ready for the smooth take-off of the 2011/2012 Academic Session. We are fully ready for the resumption of our students”.
“Our readiness is strongly embedded in our pro-active Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwafemi Olaiya Balogun, who before now had planned ahead of this resumption academically, administratively, logistically and infrastructurally”, he added.
Professor Arowolo stressed that “preparations for the new session began with the regularization of the academic calendar. This afforded lecturers and our dear students a well deserved three months break, the first of its kind in the last 20 years of the University”.
“Therefore, fellow lecturers and our students are mentally prepared for this session. We should also not forget that the regularization of our Academic calendar is important for accreditation and internationalization. For one, most countries in Europe and America commence their Academic Session in September. This is what Professor Balogun is leading us to do now in UNAAB”.
Corroborating him, the Director of Academic Planning, Professor Waheed, said the University is ready in all ramifications “because in Academic Planning, our focus is quality assurance. Therefore we had before now concluded our preparations, based on available data as it affects the size of students and staff”.
According to Professor Waheed, in the area of Lecture space, works had reached advanced stages on the 2,500 and 2,000 capacity Lecture Theatres respectively, to complement the existing three in the Julius Okojie Lecture Theatre Complex as well as those in Oba Lipede and Tony Anenih Halls, to take care of the additional students population.
Professor Waheed informed that all the Lecture Theatres have been adequately equipped with multimedia projectors and other audio-visual facilities, to enhance lecturing and learning.
The Director disclosed that the University will also build additional 1000-capacity Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories for 100-Level students.
According to Professor Waheed, 29th August to September 30th was set aside for the online registration of the old students while new students, offered provisional admission, are processing their registration.
Library
Commenting also on the readiness, the University’s Acting Librarian, Dr. (Mrs.) Mulikat Salaam, said, “we are fully ready. Our concern mostly is getting the fresh students registered with the Library. All the materials needed for their registration are ready. I know the University organizes orientation for new students, we will also give our own orientation”.
“We give our own orientation because if they don’t know how to use the Library from the 100-Level, they will find it difficult to enjoy the benefits. Therefore, we will give them necessary orientation on how to get needed information easily, without spending hours searching for books on the shelf” she added.
Dr.Salaam revealed, that “we don’t have the problem of books. What we have is adequate while electronic resources will also take care of Colleges on campus”.
The University’s Acting Librarian, however, pointed out “that the seating capacity of the main Library is below the population of the students. Initially the Library was designed for 5000 students but we have more than that now on campus”.
“However, the University has taken the right step in addressing the challenge, though it’s being done in phases. What we are doing now is that each College should have a Library. COLMAS is very lucky, it is a new College and it is growing along with its Library like COLENG, COLVET and COLNAS”, she added.
INHURD
Expressing the readiness of the Institute of Human Resources Development (INHURD), the Director, Professor O.B Kehinde said, “The Vice-Chancellor has approved the first batch of the INHURD admission list. We are starting the new session on October 14 but lectures will commence on October 31. We now have 240 bed-space hostels on campus”, he confirmed.
“The existing facilities are still very much on ground. The only challenge we are having is the poor state of our roads, but I’m happy to inform you that the link road has been re-awarded. It would have been fixed but for the delay caused by the rainy season. Work will commence on the road after the rainy season around mid-October. We are fully ready”.
Transportation
According to the outgoing Chairman of MANCOT, Dr. Atungwu, “we are combat ready. At present we have 32 buses for the transportation of students, out of these, 25 are functional and we intend to sell off the old ones that are not too good”.
“These buses are in good shape. We don’t expect them to breakdown because we service them as at when due. Let me also say that with the prompting of the Vice-Chancellor, we are providing shuttle transport for staff and students of our new College (COLMAS) whose temporary location is at the University Farm”, he added”.
UNAABSU
Also speaking, the President of the Students Union, Mr. Abdul-Kareem Bamigbade, expressed confidence that Management was ready for the resumption and the smooth sail of the new session.
Mr. Bamigbade observed the fact that the Management had “kept faith” with the regularization of academic calendar and the resumption date, saying it was an indication of its readiness for a hitch-free session.
The President stated that on the part of the UNAABSU Executive, “we are about equipping the Students Union Building with needed facilities for the relaxation of students after lectures”.
“Besides, we shall soon resuscitate one of the old buses abandoned by the previous Students Union Executive. As a matter of fact, our drive is to transform all the assets of UNAABSU which seemingly appeared as liabilities to assets”, said the President.
Reacting, the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Oluwalana, University’s readiness, charged the students to reciprocate by adhering strictly to rules and regulations.
According to him “they are expected not to cross the lawn, they are to shun indiscriminate pasting and stapling of items on the wall.
They are to abstain from indiscriminate dumping of waste and objects”.
He added, “More importantly they must imbibe and sustain the University’s culture of academic and moral excellence.