- UNILAG’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Ogunsola, highlights the impact of naira devaluation on staff salaries, leading to a mass exit abroad
- Despite economic challenges, the administration focuses on a future-ready agenda, emphasizing growth in finance, infrastructure, reputation, and manpower
Professor Folashade Ogunsola, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, revealed that the devaluation of the naira had a profound impact on university workers’ salaries, resulting in a significant exodus of staff seeking better opportunities abroad. Speaking during a media parley, Professor Ogunsola emphasized the challenges faced by the education sector in 2023, citing the unfavourable state of the country’s economy.
She explained, “For the education sector, 2023 was a tough time in many respects. The devaluation of the naira made our already modest salaries even less sustainable, leading to a mass exit of academics, especially the younger lecturers. The exchange rate factor triggered a tsunami of exit, and those who remained did so out of patriotism, not due to a lack of alternatives.”
Despite these challenges, Professor Ogunsola underscored the need for the university to establish a fund mechanism to sustain and enhance the standard of education. Reflecting on her stewardship since assuming office on November 14, 2022, she highlighted the university’s steady progress despite the adverse economic climate and disruptions.
The administration is committed to facilitating the university’s growth and fulfilling its teaching, research, and service mandate through the future-ready agenda encapsulated by the pillars of Growing the Finance, Growing the Infrastructure, Growing the Reputation, and Growing the Manpower (FIRM).
Professor Ogunsola also noted that various faculties at the institution received recognition for research studies and attracted over N11 billion in research grants in the past year. In response to global standards and industry needs, the university is redesigning some academic programs. Specifically, programs in Architecture, Creative Arts, and Mass Communication are being unbundled and established as stand-alone faculties to foster growth in these distinctive fields.
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