By Oluwakemi Oladipo
Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Otto/Ijanikin, on Tuesday, matriculated 3,300 out of the no fewer than 8,000 students who applied for admission at the institution.
The acting Vice-Chancellor of LASUED, Prof. Bidemi Lafiaji-Okuneye, made this known at the 2022/2023 first matriculation ceremony of the institution, in Lagos.
Lafiaji- Okuneye said only the best candidates, who had been found successful in United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the simple screening conducted by the university, were offered admission.
“Students have been admitted into the various colleges where their programmes are domiciled, such as: College of Humanities Education, College of Science Education and College of Management and Social Sciences Education.
“Others are: College of Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, College of Specialised and Professional Education and College of Language and Communication Arts Education.
“It should be noted that the university’s capacity for admission was pegged at 3,300 by the National Universities Commission, based on the result of the resource verification exercise conducted in the last quarter of 2022,’’ she said.
The acting vice-chancellor added that the wide margin between the number of candidates who applied to LASUED and those given admission underscored the justification of the state government’s decision to establish more universities.
“For instance, embarking on massive expansionist programme that is complemented by special renewal of physical and infrastructural facilities in the university campuses and other factors can shoot up the university’s admission capacity.
“We earnestly appeal to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to build in each of the two campuses a 1,000 capacity lecture theatre, standard senate building and befitting main auditorium.
“Furthermore, there is an urgent need for government to help reclaim the swampy portion of the university’s land at Ota/Ijanikin campus and control encroachment at the Noforija campus, including proper landscaping.
“We also need support to build students’ hostels and staff quarters through a public-private partnership arrangement,” she said.
Lafiaji-Okuneye said that as a university of education, we were privileged to have scientifically discovered the enormous potential for teacher education’s innovation capable of driving the attainment of equity in education.
“We are fully set, not only to scale innovations from the margin to the Centre of Teacher Education system but also, source support and sustain those superlative inventions that address inequality and quality.
“As the pioneer acting vice-chancellor, I am determined to build on our well-established leading position in the teacher education sector to become a highly sought-after university of education within a short time possible,” Lafiaji-Okuneye said.
The vice-chancellor advised the matriculating students to steer clear of cultism, hooliganism and other forms of social menace that might impugn the integrity of the institution. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam and ‘Wale Sadeeq
