AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Staff of the Registry Department, University of Ibadan are undergoing workshops on Fire Prevention, Drill, and Usage of Fire Extinguishers.
The participants were said to have been divided into batches for the 8-day workshops.
The Registrar, Ganiyu Saliu, said at the start of the workshops that they were aimed at sensitizing the staff on causes of fire outbreaks, prevention of outbreaks and fire fighting.
According to him, no one would pray for fire outbreaks, but all staff must be put on the alert in case the unexpected happens.
He said the workshops were not limited to the Registry staff, explaining that some key officers were trained last year.
Urging the participants to cooperate with the facilitators in a bid to justify the efforts of the Registry and the University by learning, the Registrar stated that all staff of the University would eventually be involved.
Apart from the lectures, practical demonstrations of fire control were given to the participants.
Meanwhile, the UI management has held a Town-Hall meeting withthe students’ representatives.
During the meeting which was held in Trenchard Hall, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, said the aim was to enable the students bare their minds on areas of concern.
Questions were asked by the students to which answers and explanations were provided by the officers of the University.
Adebowale explained that federal universities were in a transition mode with many issues being unclear.
He lauded the student union leaders for exuding maturity and purposeful student unionism, which he said were worth exporting to other institutions.
Noting that the students maintained peace in spite of the challenges being faced on the campus in particular and across the nation, he expressed joy that the students continued to win laurels.
He made reference to the performance of the students of the higher institution in which they made the first and third positions out of 154 nominations from across the country in the scholarships of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
The news which was newly released on Times Higher Education ranking, which placed UI in the first position in Nigeria and number seven in Africa, the VC said, gladdened the heart.
Adebowale remarked that students are important components and stakeholders in the university system. He said the Federal Government had handed off issues of accommodation for over 20 years, passing the responsibility to the management.
He said that the institution entered into 18 Build-Operate-and Transfer hostel agreements to ensure that the students are kept on campus.
Issues discussed at the meeting included the challenges of the halls of residence, laboratory fees, sexual harassment, post UTME for the physically challenged, use of computer laboratories and clinical rotation for Physiotherapy students.
Other issues included epileptic electricity supply, poor water supply, prices of commodities on campus, health services, school fees, Internet facilities and poor waste disposal.
A reduction from N400 to N300 per drop was approved to ease transportation within the campus.
The students’ bodies were represented by members of the Students Union Executive Committee led by the President, Mr Tobiloba Samuel; members of the Students Representative Council; Hall of Residence Chairpersons; Faculty Executive Committee members; members of the Students Press; a representative of the physically challenged students; representatives of Off-Campus students; MSS Amir; AUCSF and other students.
