Aare Afe Babalola, SAN
• 12 ABUAD graduates bag first class in law school
To improve the quality of graduates produced by universities in Nigeria, the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has called on the Ministry of Education and National University Commission (NUC) to establish a “national examination body that will set examinations for all final year students in each course throughout the country”.
The Legal luminary who made the call during the 9th Founders Day and 6th convocation ceremony of the university said that the external examination “will no doubt put an end to perennial strikes and make teachers to sit up knowing that their students are going to take the same examination with university like ABUAD where premium is put on attendance in classes, use of modern equipment and class work.
This rigorous training, he said, was the “reason why our students in Medicine and Law which are exposed to external examination performed better than others in the country”.
He also disclosed that all their law graduates passed in the law school with 12 of them making first class in the result of the school just released.
He, however, lamented that education sector in Nigeria is in crisis due to poor funding.
Babalola reminded of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation that at least 26 per cent of national budget should be dedicated to education whereas the nation’s budget on education is less than seven per cent.
Babalola also urged the Federal Government to revisit the issue of Education Bank to enable students’ access loans at reduced rates to finance the education and also start their own business after graduation. He said this is the surest way to put an end to rising unemployment particularly for graduates after leaving universities.
The eminent lawyer also pleaded with the federal government to revisit Ekiti airport approved in 2009 and upgrade the road network to the state.
In his goodwill message, NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Abubakar Rasheed lauded Babalola for “providing qualitative, inclusive and robust university education in Nigeria”.
He said he was marveled that a university licensed to operate nine years ago could have gone far in redefining education in Nigeria.
The NUC boss said, “Only recently, I had the honour to witness the induction of the first set of 43 medical doctors produced by (ABUAD), eight of them came out with distinctions. At that event, I stated that the request by the institution for increased admission quota for its Colleges of Law and Medicine will be dispassionately looked into, in appreciation of the quantum of human and material investments in those two colleges, with a view to reviewing the situation in line with current realities.
“I am pleased to inform that these conversations have started yielding positive results. The quota for law degree programme has just been increased to 300, while a series of additional interactions with other key stakeholders such as the medical and dental council, have also been lined up for the upcoming weeks and months.
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