The Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) will admit students into the Faculty of Pharmacy in the coming 2020/2021 Academic Year.
This followed the final approval to the university early this year from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the consequent listing of FUOYE by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on its website as one of the universities in the country eligible to admit students into the Pharmacy Faculty.
The Director of Academic Planning FUOYE, Professor Funke Akintayo broke this news to FUOYENews on Wednesday March 4, 2020 during a brief chat.
“The NUC carried out resource visitation to the new faculty from Wednesday December 18 to Thursday December 19, 2019 and we received the NUC express approval to commence the program in a letter dated January 20, 2020.”, she said.
Prof. Akintayo who confirmed that FUOYE has everything needed ready for the faculty to commence during the on-going 2019/2020 Session, explained that the delay was due to the fact that when NUC approval came, it was too late for JAMB to allocate students to FUOYE.
According to her, “By the time the university secured NUC approval to commence the programme, it was too late for JAMB to accommodate us in their schedule for 2019/2020 session. However we informed JAMB of the NUC approval and JAMB has now officially enlisted FUOYE as one of Nigerian universities that offer Pharmacy starting from 2020/2021 session. Candidates intending to sit for JAMB exams in March 2020 now have opportunity to apply to the Faculty of Pharmacy in FUOYE. Successful ones would be able to start their studies later this year when our 2020/2021 session begins.”
The Director listed some of the programmes approved by the NUC for the take-off of the new faculty. They are: Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Administration, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology and Phytochemistry. She said the university had concluded plan to engage no fewer than 20 academic staff from different pharmaceutical fields to kick-start these programmes.
She further gave insight into the depth of both the manpower and infrastructure on ground for the take-off. “We have a new Faculty of Pharmacy building in place. The laboratories and offices are well equipped with modern equipment that are necessary for effective running of the program. The University interviewed many staff and has appointed over twenty competent academic staff in different cadres for the programme”
The director said, in line with FUOYE’s tradition of giving emphasis to quality, the university had struck a strong collaboration with some sister universities to assist the new faculty in such areas that may be required when consolidating. According to her, some these universities are; the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos and the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido, Ekiti State.
She said the university would soon announce a new dean for the faculty from among the over 20 academic staff that have been penciled down for the take-off of the faculty adding that the former Dean, Professor Adebayo Lamikanra who came on Sabbatical to midwife efforts leading to NUC’s approval for the new faculty, had completed his leave and in addition had attained the retirement age of 70 years and had left.
The new faculty is expected to admit about 50 as pioneering students when it takes off later this year.