FUNAAB VC, Prof. Oluwafemi Balogun, testing one of the water taps at the COLNAS Laboratory during his tour of Colleges while Principal Officers and Dean of COLNAS, look with admiration.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwafemi Olaiya Balogun, has challenged Deans and Heads of Departments, to ensure the sustenance of the increasing academic standards and reputation of the University, preparatory to the impending institutional accreditation.
The Vice-Chancellor, who gave the charge during his visitation/tour of various Colleges of the University, stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to ensure that the University was adequately prepared for the exercise by securing the maximum points attainable for the accreditation exercise.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, “the University is rated highly as far as educational standard is concerned, and this is a test (accreditation exercise), that is meant to confirm that we are really what we are called”.
Professor Balogun declared that the University deserved to emerge with an ‘A’ grade, at the end of the accreditation exercise and deservedly receive a boost in the University’s rating at the next world’s Webometric ranking, consequent of the resultant publication of its quality performance in the national newspapers and Internet.
Noting that the state of infrastructure and equipment in the Colleges would form part of the criteria for accreditation, the Vice-Chancellor, who was accompanied by Principal Officers of the University, assessed the working conditions of laboratories and other equipment in the Colleges.
He admonished the Deans and HODs to ensure that users of infrastructure and equipment under their supervision imbibed good maintenance culture. The Vice-Chancellor highlighted some of the innovative means through which the University had been able to generate funds for the running of the Colleges. These include the Direct Teaching/Laboratory Cost (DTLC), Registration and the Postgraduate Bench Fees.
Prof. Balogun pointed out that his administration had also intervened and improved facilities in the various Colleges, by injecting the Vice-Chancellor’s Special Intervention fund to them.
The Vice-Chancellor promised to further assist the Colleges by releasing funds, from N500,000 and above to each of them, depending on their needs and size, as this will enable them embark on the repair of economically-serviceable equipment or the outright replacement of bad ones.
Professor Balogun made donations of ceiling fans and other laboratory equipment to some Colleges, while calling for their collective cooperation in building the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) into a world class institution.
Professor Balogun disclosed that the University had been adjudged the best University of Agriculture in Africa and that it would be so honoured with the award, on December 14, 2011 in Mauritius.