The Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, has announced that 32 exceptional students out of the 5,799 set to graduate at the institution’s 14th convocation will receive automatic job placements.
Prof. Ige explained that the initiative is part of the university’s long-standing policy aimed at retaining top talent and reducing the growing brain drain affecting Nigeria’s academic sector. Speaking during a press briefing ahead of the convocation activities, he noted that the first-class graduates interested in an academic career will be absorbed into the university after completing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The Vice-Chancellor also called on government and relevant stakeholders to intensify efforts to address the ongoing “japa” trend, which he said continues to drain universities of skilled manpower. He lamented the financial challenges facing the institution, stressing that inadequate funding remains a major obstacle to academic growth and stability.
“On our campus, first-class graduates are usually appointed as graduate fellows or assistants. Once they finish NYSC and are willing to stay, we bring them on board,” he said. “The japa syndrome is not peculiar to AAUA; it affects all Nigerian universities. The economic reality is pushing academics abroad. A PhD holder earning about N250,000 here can earn over N5 million abroad.”
Prof. Ige added that poor funding has made it difficult for institutions to meet their needs, leading to repeated ASUU strikes. He highlighted that subventions received by AAUA were far from adequate.
Providing the convocation statistics, he revealed that 5,251 of the graduating students are undergraduates, 526 are postgraduates, while 22 will earn diploma certificates. He further broke down the results as follows: 32 First Class, 1,444 Second Class Upper, 3,177 Second Class Lower, 582 Third Class, and 16 Pass.
As he approaches the end of his five-year tenure, Prof. Ige reflected on his time in office, stating that his biggest regret is not being able to construct more student hostels on campus. He noted that although he had plans to expand accommodation facilities using the TETFund template, the organisation no longer provided interventions to the university when he assumed office.
Despite the challenge, he highlighted his administration’s academic achievements, including the introduction of new programmes in cybersecurity, data science, software engineering, and other digital fields aimed at modernising the university’s curriculum.
