UI expels 97 students for poor academic performance

The authorities of the University of Ibadan have advised 97 students of the university to withdraw from the institution for their failure to obtain the minimum academic requirement at the end of the 2014/15 academic session.

A statement by the university’s Registrar, Olujimi Olukoya, stated that three of the students voluntarily withdrew from the school, adding that the affected students were from seven faculties and at various levels, including those in the final year of their studies.

The statement read, “The Senate, at its meeting of Monday, February 1, 2016, approved that the candidates should withdraw from the university for failure to obtain the minimum academic requirements at the end of the 2014/2015 session.”

Meanwhile, the National Universities Commission has ranked the institution as the best university in Nigeria in 2015.

The University of Lagos placed second while the University of Benin came third.

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and Ahmadu Bello University occupy the fourth and fifth positions respectively.

In his reaction, the Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof Abel Olayinka, said the school was looking beyond being the best in Nigeria, stressing that the aim of the school management was to be among the best five universities in Africa.

Olayinka added, “Being number one in Nigeria and number one in West Africaý should not be taken for granted. The real challenge is for us to be ranked among the top five in Africa in the next few years. This is possible given the pedigree of Ibadan over the last 68 years.

“As we speak, we have perhaps the most highly developed postgraduate school, with easily the largest number of Master’s and Doctoral students in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The UI School of Business has been approved by the NUC and it is set to take off soon with her flagship MBA programme, which used to be run by our Department of Economics.

“The UI Research Foundation, set up by the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof Isaac Adewole, to reposition research activities in this institution, is perhaps the first of its type in Africa.”