Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye has embarked on the process to further expand its recreational facilities on campus, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, has disclosed. He said the move was part of measures by the University Management to enhance the learning experience of its students and equally take adequate care of their physical and mental health.
The Vice-Chancellor disclosed this in his remarks at the presentation of Exit Report by a team of the National Universities Commission (NUC) on the Assessment of the Status of Student Support Facilities and Services in Nigerian Universities, which visited OOU for resource verification between Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st March, 2023. The three-member team, led by Dr Zakariya Kwanto, inspected some major facilities in the institution.
Prof. Agboola, while responding to some of the observations made by the NUC team, restated the commitment of his administration to the welfare of students through the provision of necessary facilities. He noted that the University recently carried out the clearing of bushes all over the campus with a view to creating more conducive environment. He explained that the University had hitherto embarked on landscaping and beautification projects which accounted for the various walkways constructed to ease pedestrian movement in the institution.
“We have cleared all the bushes around. We want to establish more recreational facilities for our students. The University has invested in high quality ICT (information and communications technology) facilities to make learning more flexible for students. We have moved from radio wave to optic fibre which brought about efficient internet service with great speed. The plan is tomake available more facilities for these students so that they can sit anywhere on campus and use Wi-Fi,” the Vice-Chancellor told the visiting panel.
Prof. Agboola also stated that plans were underway to plant trees as fence hedge in the varsity towards addressing the challenge of lack of perimeter fencing. According to him, the University was sited on 33,000 hectares of land and it may be difficult to fence such a large expanse of land with the limited resources available to the institution. With the population of the University students, however, he posited that the tree planting project was feasible.
The Vice-Chancellor had earlier given a historical background of the University, noting that virtually all its programmes currently have full accreditation. He added that the University has done greatly in the last 40 years of its existence. He assured the assessors of utmost cooperation by the University Management and officials for the successful execution of the assignment.
Speaking earlier, the NUC Team Leader, Dr Zakariya Kwanto, said the visit was part of efforts to improve the University system. He thanked the Vice-Chancellor for the hospitality and cooperation received from staff of the institution. Although he mentioned few observations made by the panel in its preliminary report, he stated thatthe main report would be communicated by the Commission.
Members of the University Management Team who received the NUC delegation included the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Olatundun Oderinde; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Charles Adekoya; Registrar, Mr Femi Ogunwomoju; Librarian, Dr Adebambo Oduwole; and Bursar, Mr Semiu Makinde.
Meanwhile, two other panels from the NUC have similarly visited the University for resource verification. These included the Accreditation Teams on Research and Centre for Continuing Education.
After visiting the various Departments to assess their respective programmes, the accreditation teams returned to the Vice-Chancellor’s Office to submit their Exit Reports. In their briefings, the Panel Chairmen declared that there were marked improvement in the University in terms of infrastructures and facilities. They also commended the prevailing ambience and serene environment of the campus as well as the safety arrangements put in place by the University Management.
The NUC Accreditation Team on Research comprised Mrs Tola Oludare and Mr Henry Okpala while the panel on Centre for Continuing Education included Mr Innocent Ogwuche, Ms. Nora Effiong Hero and Mr Bamah Francis Uche.
