Be innovative, lawmaker tells LASU management

A lawmaker, Mr Olanrewaju Ogunyemi, on Tuesday, told authorities of the Lagos State University to be innovative in generating more revenue as government funding was insufficient for all the institution’s needs.

Ogunyemi, the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) Committee on Education, gave the advice during an oversight visit to the university and the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija, Epe

He said that innovation, ingenuity and great ideas must be the hallmark of the university in its bid to actualise its dreams, especially that of being a world-class institution.

According to him, the challenges facing the school are not insurmountable, with the new management led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun in place.

He commended the management for its achievements in the last 10 months and urged the members to continue to consolidate on the gains.

“We want to commend your efforts; our students are very important. You are here because of the students and you must communicate with them regularly.

“Let us keep close tabs on the students and engage them regularly and constantly.

“We must continue to contain them; we want the university to treat the backlog of results and certificates of the students and want crisis to be completely eradicated in LASU.

“It is commendable that the activities of cults have been eliminated in the school because we have not heard of cultism in LASU for one year,” he said.

Ogunyemi promised that the assembly would continue to support the university to achieve its objectives.

Fagbohun, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, had earlier told the visiting lawmakers that the university could only admit about 5,000 of the huge number of applicants who chose the school in the academic year.

He said that the school had been mandated to charge N25,000 as school fees as against the average of N100,000 being collected by other state universities, which was grossly inadequate.

The vice chancellor said that the school lacked basic infrastructure such as tables and chairs for the students.

He commended the state government for the on-going construction of an ultra-modern library, students’ arcade and senate building, amongst others.

Fagbohun also said that a large portion of land belonging to the school had been taken over by external forces, and houses had been built on about 71 per cent of the land.

The vice chancellor appealed to the lawmakers to reclaim the properties of the school and help in taking it to the next level.

At MOCOPED, Prof. Ola Akewusola, the provost of the school, while receiving the lawmakers, said that he had been able to achieve much since he got to the school in 2011.

Akewusola said that his desire was to turn the institution into a university of education.

He said that the management was working towards the objective with the state government.