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CORBON, TETFund Pay Courtesy Visit to the Vice-Chancellor

On a bright and sunny morning of Monday, April 15, 2024, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, received two (2) separate teams from the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The CORBON Team was in the University for the professional accreditation of the Building undergraduate programme in UNILAG, as well as the training facilities available for the programme while the TETFund Team was in the University to physically assess the heavy equipment in the laboratories and workshops in the University as well as technical staff and their competencies.

The CORBON Team consisted of Bldr. (Prof.) Yohana Izam of the University of Jos (Team Lead), Bldr. (Prof.) Shehu Bustin of Bayero University, Bldr. (Dr.) Adeosun Julianah of Osun State University and CORBON Registrar, Bldr. Tunji Adeniran while the TETFund Team was made up of Prof. Ganiyu Oboh of Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) – Team Lead; Prof. Ebenezer Farombi of University of Ibadan; Conrad Okoli and Oluwatoyin Omoniwa, both of TETFund.

Prof. Ganiyu Oboh
Prof. Izam

According to Prof. Izam of the CORBON Team, the accreditation exercise, targeted at ensuring that tertiary institutions maintain best standards in teaching the building profession, was purely for peer-review purposes. Prof. Oboh of the TETFund team reiterated the purpose of the visit, adding that the visit followed the submission of a list of available equipment within the University’s labs and workshops submitted to TETFund by the Director, Academic Planning Unit four weeks ago.

Prof. Ogunsola

Welcoming the two teams separately, the Vice-Chancellor commented to the CORBON team that the University is appreciative of peer-reviews by professional bodies. She assured them of the Department of Building’s utmost cooperation and the university’s eagerness to receive feedback from the accreditation visit.

To the TETFund team, the Vice-Chancellor revealed that although a lot of technical staff had left the services of the University after the COVID-19 pandemic and industrial actions, the University continued to ensure trainings of technical staff in the labs and workshops. She disclosed that the University would recruit a lot of technical staff as soon as it is able to. She also mentioned UNILAG’s challenges of aging infrastructure and underground cable damages.

Prof. Bola Oboh

Regarding technical training, Deputy Vice–Chancellor (Academics & Research), Prof. Bola Oboh proposed that TETFund should consider negotiating a contract with equipment manufacturers or suppliers that would include technical staff training on equipment use and maintenance, in order to facilitate maintenance and other needs.

Prof. Farombi

In response, Prof. Ebenezer Farombi of the University of Ibadan, representing the Nigerian Academy of Science on the TETFund team, proposed that UNILAG imitate the process employed in the UI’s Biochemistry Department, which involves training and retraining a critical mass of senior technicians in other countries on the use of specific equipment. These technicians, upon their return, train other technicians on how to operate the equipment. He also highlighted a method employed in Denmark that involves sending a technician to be trained by the manufacturer for a few weeks while an order was placed for the equipment. Following the technician’s return, the equipment is delivered and the technician gets to work using it.

The CORBON and TETFund teams were received by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, along with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa; Deputy Vice–Chancellor (Academics & Research), Prof. Bola Oboh; Acting Registrar, Mrs. Olakunle Makinde and Director, Academic Planning Unit, Prof. Olusoji Ilori. In addition, the CORBON team was accompanied by the Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Prof. Modupe Omirin, Head, Department of Building, Prof. O. J. Ameh and other members of the Department – Prof. K. T. Odusami, Prof. Martin Dada, Dr. A. A. Soyingbe and Dr. J. O. Faremi.

Reporter: Ndidi J. Odinikaeze

Photographer: Joshua Michael

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