Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
A university don and Dean of School of Post graduate (PG) Studies, Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare has tasked the Federal Government to give adequate attention to tertiary education in the country.
He said the nation’s tertiary education deserves adequate and sustained funding, which according to him, would guarantee sustainable growth in the education sector.
Prof Bakare, who is a pioneer Dean, FUOYE gave this advice while speaking about the forthcoming maiden matriculation ceremony of the PG school scheduled to hold on March 27.
Bakare said FUOYE ‘s school of post graduate studies took off in October 2017 and was inspired by the need to get the university to offer post graduate education so as to utilize its huge manpower to the maximum level.
Disclosing that the all academic programmes offered by the PG school have full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC), Bakare said: “ We took off with 16 programmes in eight departments both at masters and doctoral levels but we had to wait until more of our programmes acquired full accreditation status, and as soon as that happened, more departments were enrolled into the post graduate programmes and so as we speak now , we have 60 programmes across 30 departments in the school, both at the Masters and PhD levels. A few of the departments also offer Post graduate diploma programmes.”
The university don, who urged qualified candidates to make FUOYE their first choice for post graduate studies explained what makes the institution thick: “Though, FUOYE is a new university, just about nine years old, but we are very ambitious, consistently, we have been ranked between 12 and 14 out of 96 universities in the country. FUOYE has been the first among its peers; I mean among the universities established by former President Goodluck Jonathan. The height the university has attained is monumental and that is its selling point for the post-graduate school. You need a university that worth its onions, you need a university that is hungry for name and fame, to start a post graduate school.
Bakare also spoke about the maiden edition of the PG school’s matriculation ceremony: “The matriculation ceremony is just a brief event to make our students legal and bonafide students of the university.”
It is when you are matriculated and have a matriculation number that you become a legal student. Post graduate students will adorn their academic gowns and listen to one or two lecture speeches. Take the matriculation oaths and sign the forms and get their matriculation numbers. Because this is our first matriculation ceremony in FUOYE, so we should really celebrate it. It signifies that the university is maturing, we will be having as inviter guests bigwigs, traditional rulers, some of the Deans of post graduate studies across the country, some Very Important Personalities, leaders of thought, university administrators and some national figures and other will be invited.
He hinted that the PG school of FUOYE would start its second academic session on September: “We should be advertising before the end of this month, in a week from now, we will have our adverts on the PG school website and in some national papers.
The 2019/2018 academic session will take off in September 2019 which means that students should begin to apply from April this year and we should be through with admission by June or July this year.”