The Vice Chancellor, Osun State University, Professor Clement Adebooye has disclosed that Universities in Nigeria will begin to lose students’ patronage following pressure from employers.

He also warned that If University administration’s jettisoned professionalism, students would stop patronising such school as a result of pressure from employers owing to fall in standards among institutions of higher learning.

Speaking at the 2^nd Annual Registry lecture of the University held at the Olagusoye Oyinlola auditorium, Osogbo, Professor Adebooye said the trend globally is for employers to put pressure on recruiting organisations not include graduates of certain Universities among graduates to be shortlisted for job consideration.

His words, “This Is the 21^st century and the 4^th industrial revolution. Before we conclude this century, professionalism will lay its bare on how universities are run and whether universities will have students or not. I want to tell you that at a point in time it will happen, some universities will not have students. They will not have patronage. And why? Because employers will come up with a template that graduates og university that does not fall within a particular rank should not apply for job in their organisations.

“It’s already happening in the United States, Canada and Europe. They will just ask people to apply for a particular position and you will see that graduates of some universities will not be shortlisted for interview despite the fact that they made first class. The reason is that there will be a ranking and the ranking will place universities as positions. And employers will go to the interview and say, any student or any graduate who finished from a university that is below rank number 40 should not apply. Or even if they apply, they will not be shortlisted for interview.

“I also see a situation where professionalism will lead us to a situation that for appointment of principal officers of the university, especially Vice Chancellors, there will no more be fights. The criteria will be set. They will be very clear. You will have scored yourself before you apply. And when you score yourself, you will not file your application because you know that you will not be shortlisted, because your CV does not measure up to the standard. It is going to happen, it may be in the next 20 or 30 years”.

In his lecture titled, Promoting Professionalism and Skill-Based Administration of Universities in Nigeria: Which Way, Whose Place? For Registrar, Obafemi Awolowo University, Atodele Ogunruku, stressed the need for administrators to see themselves as the life wire of Universities towards achieving its establishment mandates.

“We ensure that the system goes well in terms of the ways and the needs, from recruitment of the students to the graduating of the students in ensuring quality assurance, by ensuring they do what they are suppose to do effectively and efficiently.

“University heads should also carry everybody along, like I said in my lecture, a bird does not fly with one wing, everybody should be carried along they should be trained the way academic staff enjoy development training in the interest of the University system”, he added. (Vanguard)

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