Vice- Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, has said that available statistics are pointing to an urgent need for repositioning of universities in the country.
The VC spoke at the opening the Fourth Research and Development Fair, organised by LASU in Lagos. The theme of the fair was: “Repositioning the Nigerian University System For Global Relevance and Competitiveness In Learning, Research, Innovation And Technological Transfer”.
Olatunji-Bello said that the theme of the research fair was apt in face of the not-too- impressive showing of Nigerian Universities in recent global rankings.
“According to National Universities Commission (NUC), there are 200 Universities in Nigeria, out of which more than 79 are privately owned, 43 are Federal owned and 48 are state owned. In the 2022 webmetrics ranking, there is no single Nigerian University in top 1000 in the world, while the highest ranked is the University of Ibadan at 1207.
“The centre for World University ranking in its 2022 report could not rank any Nigerian University in the first 1000, the highest ranked sits at 1172,” she said.
The vice-chancellor said that in a bid to address this, LASU had, in last few years, intensified its effort in research and innovation. This, she said, culminated in the creation of the Directorate of Research Management and Innovation.
“The Senate of this university is instituting a five-million-naira research grant for cutting- edge multidisciplinary research in the University. The directorate is also responsible for reviewing research proposals and ensuring that our academics comply with current ethical consideration. We want research to maintain its paramount position in LASU, as it is expected in every world class institution of higher learning,” she said.
