The authorities of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Ilorin, Kwara State of Nigeria have begun lobbying the National Universities Commission (NUC) for an increase in their existing admission quota. The institution has initially pegged 10,900 as the number of candidates to be admitted to the prestigious University. This move was as a result of the huge number of admission seekers, particularly into the university. Unilorin has become one of the most subscribed institutions of learning in the country. It is one of the few tertiary institutions that haven’t been hit with incessant strikes in recent years.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sulyman Abdulkareem, has therefore revealed that Unilorin would admit about 12,000 candidates for the 2019/2020 academic session. The VC disclosed this at the annual breaking of fast (Iftar) with reporters in Ilorin. He said his goal was to have limitless admission but for NUC and JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board) regulatory activities.
The VC also stated that the allocation of admission quota for students was dependent on the carrying capacity and facilities on each campus of the university. He also said he had reached out to the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) for support in building large lecture halls. The inadequacy of lecture theatres and classrooms has been the main challenge of his administration. The provision of large lecture halls will, therefore, fast-track the lobbying by the school’s authorities for more candidates into the institution.
Stressing the issue at hand, Prof Abdulkareem said ‘’Our biggest problem is the 100 level courses that have large numbers of students, especially if you look at Chemistry, Physics, Maths, and Biology that all 100 level students must take in their very large numbers’’.
‘’Till now, we have been having a problem. But, lately, in this session, what we have been doing is using our big Lecture Theatre, Multipurpose Theatre and having enough chairs’’.
The VC is thereby soliciting for support from TETFUND so as to achieve its aim of increasing the number of admissible candidates from 10,900 to 12,000 in the forthcoming academic session.