R-L: Mr Oladipo Ajayi (Registrar), Arch.Sadiq Shuaib
The duo of Registrar, Mr. Oladipo A. Ajayi, and the Director, Physical Development, Works and Services (DPDW&S), Arch. Sadiq Shuaib have held a progress meeting with the study centre director as well as heads of unit at the Lagos Campus, Lagos State.
The meeting centred on how to chat the university forward administratively by improving the students enrolment, staff development, amongst others.
Speaking on the challenges of low enrolment, the registrar stated that the dwindling nature of students’ enrolment, both the prospective and current students, calls for a serious concern.
“From the updates, the total number of enrolment is just 13,015 that had enrolled in the institution compared with the last semester matriculation, which was over 20,000. The number is not encouraging as the institution is losing her prospective students,” Ajayi lamented.
He encouraged the centre directors to engage their staff members in regular staff meetings as some of the desk officers, especially the junior and new staff may not fully understand the importance of the ODL policy.
“Students should be seen as clients, and need to be addressed properly and treated well as they serve as the institution’s ambassadors,”the registrar said.
Ajayi commended the efforts of the directors and senior officers for their great efforts on challenges encountered especially during examinations.
He, however, frowned at the habit of exploitation of students, saying that some member of staff collide with business centres to exploit the students which may discourage them from further registration.
The registrar said the directors should monitor their staff and discipline anyone that is being caught.
Cross section of Centre directors and Unit Heads
He reminisced on the issue of staff training, saying that “there is a need for training, the staff of the study centres have complained that they are not benefiting from training.”
Ajayi further implored the directors to make use of the Annual Performance Assessment (APA) form in analysing and giving recommendations on training to such staff, as it will improve work performance.
The university, he added, is working on certain issues and has been decided that faculty desk offers and the deans should be having meetings at least twice a year for their facilities.
On his part, the DPDW&S director addressed the issue of the environment, and of the business centre that encircle the premises, saying that many study centres operating business centres have issues with examination misconduct, while some staff are using the business centres to extort money from the students.
According to Shuaib, the management has decided to take drastic steps and decisive actions to prevent all issues that are on the ground and urged directors to speak with the business operators to find way out as contractors will soon commence work.
At the end of the meeting, the directors gave their reactions on the challenges encountered especially parking space during the examination, which causes obstructions and suggested that the centres should be decentralised to limit most of the issues discussed.
