Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof Idowu Olayinka, has said the institution is under-staffed by 1,834 personnel, which has been making the current staff to over-work.
He disclosed this on Thursday in his address during the third stakeholders’ forum entitled: ‘The State of the University,’ chaired by a legal luminary, Dr. Akin Onigbinde, held at the multipurpose Hall of UI Alumni Association, on the campus of the institution.
Olayinka stated that instead of 4,570 personnel, the university has on its employment a total of 2,736 staff, adding that the Federal Government has been contacted in Abuja on the shortfall so that the institution would employ more staff.
He also announced that the 2018/2019 academic session would commence on Saturday June 15, 2019, adding that the new students should resume on the same day as orientation programme would start two days later. He also said returning students would resume on Saturday June 22, while lectures for the new session would begin on June 24.
Olayinka stated further that about 207 students would graduate with first-class honours during the convocation ceremony of the institution that will hold in November, this year, though many of them would have gone for their one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) before the convocation ceremony.
According to the vice chancellor, “We currently have 1,490 academic staff, 456 senior technologists/technical staff, 286 senior administrative staff, 196 senior secretarial staff, 155 junior technical staff, and 153 junior administrative staff.
“With a total student population of 30,105 in terms of the head count of full time students and a total full time equivalent of 32,228 and using the NUC (National University Commission) norm, there is a shortage of 374 academic staff, a shortage of 397 in the senior technologist cadre, a shortage of 931 in the junior technical staff cadre, and a shortage of 132 in the junior administrative staff category.
“The foregoing suggests that our staff are overworked, even while at the same time they are overworked. We cannot thank them enough for their patience and forbearance. We are making representation to the relevant authorities in Abuja so that we would be able to engage new staff, especially at the lower levels.”
Olayinka noted further that the university “is currently understaffed as a result of difficulty being experienced in hiring new staff, and placing them on the payroll. A number of our colleagues are retiring, some have resigned, while unfortunately some died. On the other hand, the university has been expanding with the introduction of new academic programmes and departments….”
The legal luminary, Dr. Akin Onigbinde, a former Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, enjoined UI to constantly continue to think out innovative ways of reinventing itself, and transforming itself for relevance and development.