The Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folashade Ogunsola, has stated that the education sector in the country had suffered more from the dwindling economy in 2023 which has left the sector bereft of young lecturers.
Ogunsola who stated this at a media briefing in Lagos on Saturday, blamed the devaluation of the naira for the impoverished situation of lecturers in universities across the country which has led to them leaving in search of greener pastures abroad.
“For the education sector, 2023 was a tough time in many respects. The state of the country was not favourable to academics. The exchange rate made our poor salaries even poorer, and so, from the point of view of the education sector, it was a time when people left in droves. It was a tsunami of exit,” the VC said.
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“Many academics, especially our younger lecturers, left the system. Many of the people who didn’t leave are doing it out of patriotism, not for lack of where to go,” she said.
While proffering solutions to the malaise, Prof. Ogunsola said the university needed to design a fund mechanism to sustain and improve the standard of education.
The VC who also used the opportunity to give account of stewardship since she assumed office on November 14, 2022, said the university has made steady progress despite the grim economic climate and many disruptions
She emphasized that under her watch, she was determined to ensure that the university could grow and deliver on its mandate of teaching, research and service through the future-ready agenda encapsulated by the four pillars of growth: Growing the Finance, Growing the Infrastructure, Growing the Reputation and Growing the Manpower (FIRM).
She added that various faculties of the institution had been recognised for research studies and attracted over N11bn research grants in the last one year.