The Pro-Chancellor/Chairman Governing Council of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, has explained the reasons for the popularity of FUOYE among admission seekers into Nigerian universities.
FUOYE, believed to be one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, has consistently maintained number-four position in the ranking of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the most preferred universities by citizens seeking admission into Nigerian universities.
JAMB, recently announced FUOYE again as the fourth most sought-after university in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). With only Lagos State University (LASU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) and University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) ahead of FUOYE, the 14-year-old ivory tower dusted older, first-generation institutions like University of Ibadan (UI), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and many others to emerge the 4th most subscribed university.
Speaking during an interview in Abuja, the Pro-Chancellor, Ndoma-Egba, identified regularity in the university’s academic calendar, richness of its curriculum, high standard and academic excellence maintained by the school, and the hospitality of its host communities as the factors responsible for the attraction of prospective students to FUOYE.
His words: “The consistency in our academic calendar has been one of the reasons admission seekers into Nigerian universities are so attracted to FUOYE. Since the COVID period, there has been no interruption in our academic calendar. So, we have perhaps, if not the most stable, one of the most stable academic calendars. Since COVID we have not suffered any disruption. We’ve Just maintained our academic calendar.
“The richness of the offerings in our curriculum, along with the high standards and academic excellence we’ve strived to maintain, have also served as points of attraction. Our curriculum is very rich and because it’s rich it is attractive to the students.
“And of course, the hospitality of our host communities – Oye-Ekiti and Ikole-Ekiti where our two main campuses are located. You don’t hear of any untoward incidents. The members of the communities are at peace with and accommodating to both our students and our staff living among them. Because of the accommodation problem which we are working on, our students and staff live within the various communities. And there are no security issues. You know the Ekiti people are known for their love for education. So, the environment is conducive. Those are the reasons for the attraction.”
The Pro-Chancellor, a former Senate Leader, who prepared and presented the bills for the establishment of FUOYE and its peers in 2011, further stated that “By the time we begin to implement what we have in the pipeline, FUOYE will become much more attracted to Nigerians seeking admission into the country’s universities, and clinch the number-one position in terms of students’ preference.
“We are working on elevating our standard. We want to deeply entrench what we call the FUOYE Standard that will reflect in everything we do. How we conduct ourselves in academics, research and even our infrastructure. We want to get to a point where when you see a building, you can tell that this is FUOYE Standard.
“So, the FUOYE standard will be a standard that is even higher than what we have now. Therefore, expect that sooner than later we will even get more attractive than we are today. We were recently in Rwanda for a retreat where we signed some MoUs with two universities in Rwanda. In the MoU there will be staff and students exchange. The whole essence of the MoUs signed in Rwanda is to expose our staff and students to new vista and new environments so as to improve their appreciation of the larger world.”
The FUOYE Council Chair noted that the rate of growth in the university has been quite impressive, remarkable and astronomical, but was quick to add that it would need to be properly managed and controlled to ensure sustainability.
He applauded the current management of the university under the leadership of Professor Sunday Abayomi Fasina, the substantive Vice-Chancellor (VC) for the significant role it has played in the advancement of the Ivory Tower.
According to Ndoma-Egba, most of the records of growth in FUOYE occurred under the administration of Prof. Fasina who is presently on leave and being ably represented by the Acting VC, Prof Olubunmi Shittu, in the running of the affairs of the school.
“Most of the growth that you see has happened in the last few years. If you take the last visitation panel report, the only one we have had that looked at the period from inception in 2011 to 2020, you will see that the growth that we have actually started the period that coincided with the tenure of the present management led by Prof Fasina. That is where you see the spike. Which means that he has done a lot to enhance the growth of the university. But the challenge now is how to manage and control the growth for sustainable development,” he stated.