Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade ll has urged the Governing Council and the management team of the University of Ibadan (UI) to work towards expanding the admission quota for the undergraduate programmes in the institution.
This is just as he enjoined his visitors to address the issue of incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which he said “is fastly eroding the confidence of the international community in our degree programmes”.
Playing host to the management team led by the Vice-Chancellor, Kayode Adebowale , a professor at his Alarere residence, the monarch said the admission of mere 4, 255 out of 63,000 applicants in the 2021 admission exercise was not cheering
He stressed that the thirst for tertiary education among the youths of the country could not be addressed without expansion of the admission quota.
The monarch, according to the statement made available to journalists by his Media Aide, Oladele Ogunsola acknowledged the emphasis being placed on post-graduate studies by the University, but, he insisted that “there must a way to create more rooms for the undergraduates as well considering the fact that there must be a foundation before erection of building could take place”.
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Olubadan saluted the growth of the 74 year-old University, describing it as a pride of not only Ibadanland, but that of entire Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor, Adebowale had earlier in his speech regaled the monarch and others in attendance with the strides made as an institution since January, 1948 when he said they began with 104 students compared to 2021 when the University admitted 4,255 students and from just two small halls of residence then to 12 existing halls now and another 21 halls under construction.
“Our capacity, resources, reach and influence have continued to wax stronger and stronger. And we know one of the reasons for this. When a tenant prospers, he or she should because the landlord has created a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for him or her”, the VC said.
Expressing gratitude to the monarch and his predecessors for their roles in the growth of the institution, Adebowale noted further that, “besides our fathers the Olubadan, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) has remained a strong pillar of support to our university over the years”.
The VC eulogized the monarch, who he said ascended the most important position in Ibadanland and one of the topmost important traditional positions in Nigeria, adding, “Your Majesty, you are a man of destiny and anyone, who has followed your trajectory would easily know that. I pray that the Almighty would bless our father with good health, long life, wisdom, peace and prosperity”.
