The VC, Prof. Olusola Oyewole (Right) addressing COLNAS staff during his familiarization visit to the College.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole, has charged Colleges of the University to evolve a two-year Strategic Plan, encapsulating their Vision and Mission Statements for academic and physical development.
Professor Oyewole also tasked the Colleges on the need to repackage their curricula, in line with the global best practices, to make graduates of the University marketable locally and in the world at large.
The Vice-Chancellor handed down the charge to Deans of Colleges while addressing Academic and Non-teaching Staff during his maiden official familiarisation visits to them.
Reflecting on the contents of the Handing-over Notes presented to him by his predecessor, Professor Oluwafemi Olaiya Balogun on his assumption of office, the Vice-Chancellor noted with dismay that the Hand-over notes of many Colleges were deficient on Vision and Mission Statements.
According to him, “I am somebody who likes planning because; I want to assess myself in order to know whether I am moving forward or not. For us to move forward as a University, we need vision”.
He stressed, “It is good for us to have a way of assessing what we are doing and what we are not doing. You can study the University’s Vision and Mission Statements and then synchronise yours towards their ideals”.
The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that he had directed the Director of Academic Planning to “draw up a mini-strategic plan” adding that it had become mandatory for all Colleges to have a 2-year strategic plan, in order to enhance service delivery and development of the University.
Speaking further, Prof. Oyewole challenged the Colleges to repackage their curricula by modifying their courses in line with modern trends, to make the products of the University competitive and of high value in the global market.
He frowned that a situation where some Colleges are still using the same curricula that were packaged 24 years ago, at the inception of the University, to teach contemporary students as barbaric and counter-productive.
According to him, “our Colleges are still using the curricula of 24 years ago. Our courses are due for reconstruction. The degrees we are running are getting out of tune, there is the urgent need to repackage our programmes, in order to become more marketable.
Professor Oyewole also pleaded with staffers of the University to ensure the success of the forthcoming accreditation exercise and webometrics ranking.
He stated that it behoved staffers that are involved in the two exercises to put in their best, more-so that the National Universities Commission (NUC) is carrying out a fresh accreditation exercise while the next webometrics assessment is due next month (July).
“NUC just informed of us of its readiness to carry out fresh accreditation exercise. The accreditation affects all of us in the University, the Departments in particular. Don’t let us wait till accreditation time before we start preparing, before we start packaging our courses.
“All the programmes of the University will go through fresh accreditation. The question now is, how can we get accredited in the next exercise? We need to get facilities on ground. The issue of personnel is very important. We can’t afford to fail the accreditation. Whatever we can do, let’s put in our best”, he added.
Commenting on the stability of academic calendar and the need to sustain the webometrics ranking, Professor Oyewole declared that, “webometrics may not on its own mean quality, but it is making us to be quality conscious”.
“The month of July is when we are going to be rated. Between now and July, people will be accessing our web site. I want to plead with you, whatever we can do to ensure stability of our calendar, let us do it for the progress of the University because our students and their parents now have more confidence in the University because of the stability of our calendar”.
Speaking further, the Vice-Chancellor decried the misconception that e-examination was responsible for low performance of students, in the recent time.
According to him, “They told me that the quality of education is going down because of e-examination. It is like we don’t remember that before the advent of e-exams, it takes at least two months to mark students’ scripts”
“The only thing I don’t like about it is that in the system, it is done once and for all. For it to be effective, we need to modify it. Let us give room for three or four e-exams in a semester for it to be effective. I want to assure you that it is the function of the Senate and it will look into it”, he added.
Responding to questions on the conduct of the University’s Ph.D programmes and the ongoing 2012/2013 admission exercise, Professor Oyewole appealed to Lecturers not to unnecessarily delay their Ph.D students, while assuring that admission for undergraduates, as usual , will be based on merit.
His words, “I want to challenge us, this idea of making a Ph.D student to suffer for six years, doing his programme is not good. While I want you to properly do your job, we should not unnecessarily delay them”
“Let me also inform that in the last three days, I have been receiving various requests for admission of candidates into the University.
I received 19 requests from a particular person. We shall be fair to everybody. Tell your children to study hard”
On research grants and workshops, the Vice-Chancellor stated that laboratories are equipped through research proposals and research grants. “Within the next three weeks, Research Africa is giving us a trial, to enable some of our academic staff search for grants. We are committed to research and we are committed to grants”.
“On workshops, I want to appeal to our academic staff, don’t let us just go for workshop, plan your workshop and bring people into our campus. We have in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge, a 24 room en-suite that is specially designed for conferences and workshops. Let’s make good use of it”, he said.
Professor Oyewole revealed that prior to his interview for the post of the Vice-Chancellor; he went on a private tour of the campus, to have a better knowledge of the facilities on ground.
The Vice-Chancellor stressed that he was amazed at the high level of facilities on ground, adding that he was proud of the University to see how FUNAAB students through the Community Based Farming Scheme (COBFAS) had impacted the socio-economic and academic life of the youths and their host communities.
Noting with dismay that some members of staff were not familiar with the available facilities as well as the impact of the University in the society, Professor Oyewole said he is looking forward to a lecture free day, to enable staff go on familiarization tour of the campus.
The Vice-Chancellor charged members of the community, especially, leadership at Academic and Non-Teaching Units to enforce discipline as a way of life.
He pointed out that without imbibing discipline, the University cannot make any meaningful progress.
Professor Oyewole said, as the Vice-Chancellor, he was committed to lead by example, stressing however, that his manner and form of discipline will be with human face.
He stated that as part of his commitment to discipline, no memo will stay on his table beyond 24 hours, urging other arms of administration in the system to either follow suit or get queried.
The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that an organ of the University that will see to the enthronement of discipline and enhanced service delivery, had been conceived. He revealed that the organ, Quality Assurance Unit will be inaugurated in the next two weeks.