CAMPUSCONNECT NIGERIA WEEKLY CONTEST-WEEK3 - MAKING CHANGES /@spyrex entry/

Good morning campus connect
On our last assignment we talked about our various universities , its landmark, achievements and what we loved about it. You can use the link below if you want to review on my earlier post
CAMPUSCONNECT WEEKLY CONTEST-Week1- Tell us about your university//@spyrex entry

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I mentioned alot of good things and improvements that had been added to the school, the robots, the sporting activities, the beautiful locations and condusive environments. Not without say, although i hold my institution with great pride, i wont neccessrily boast it was a 100 percent perfect. Yes, i guess the better parts of the universities outweigh the bad parts and i also guess it could have been worse.
Many universities suffer violence from cults or gangs in schools and unilag that used to have one have resolved such issues by establishing their own security command center known as “alphabase”. We have good infrastructures and good teachers, our school fee is actually fair and cheap since its a federal university. Accommodation and school fees could cost at least 50,000 naira, even a student could pay the fee, plus the school offers lots of scholarship programs for students who need the aid or want to save money. So dont get me wrong if i say its all bad because I believe it could be worse.

UNILAG faces a few problems which i will talk about today. I guess the number 1 problem i would focus on is the overpopulation in the school.

OVERPOPULATION
Every year, over 50000 applicants apply to the university which accepts at most 10000 students. It may sound small but the space in the school should be put into account. Unilag is basically an island surrounded by the Lagos lagoon with a space of about 802 acres.

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Diploma students coming into the school are also accounted for due to programmes in the school. With the DLI, JUPEB, ICE programmees. The total amount of students could be triple the amount of the 10000 undergraduate students already accepted. Due to this issue there is alot of congestion and hence the only way to resolve this issue is to expand the school. The creeks around the school have started to be sand filled last i saw it , i guess they might have a plan for it but still we can never know till we see results.

INFRASTRUCTURE
With overpopulation being the main problem the school faces , i would love to put into account that this has led to congestion in hostels and as such students seek accomodation outside campus.

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I stay in a private hostel outside campus to have my space and freedom. Although the school has started taking actions towards this problem their response is slow. Diploma students are not even offered hostels on campus like normal undergraduate students.
The libraries are congested and as such some students seek to read outside the comfort of a library.

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Rumors have it that an ongoing construction within the school is going to be the new library but we cant be sure about that i guess.

TRIBALISIM
The federal government believes all federal universities needs to have catchment areas for some certain states regarding their ethnic groups. Meaning if you are not from a certain tribe or state you would have to score higher to get into the school . For example UNILAG is predominantly in the yoruba region, a major ethnic group in nigeria and as such yoruba students trying to get into the school from the catchments states are favoured with lower admission cut off marks compared to other students from other tribes. Unilag being a top school in nigeria should embrace the idea of equality and unity as the country is together and not divided. Some other students feel cheated because of this which is frankly unfair.

MEDICAL FACILITIES
The unilag complex is divided into different campuses and as such the medical campus is seperate from the main campus.

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As at 2020 i had an eye defect where i felt serious pains in my eye and went to the medicare center to receive treatment since i have an insurance there like every student in the school. They couldn’t help me but gave me pain killers and suggested i go see an eye doctor outside school. I didn't know any eye doctors cause i don't live in Lagos i only school there and travel back home for my holidays. I believe a university of such level should have an adequate health care facility to help students with different ailments, a medical research laboratory is even located within the campus and yet an eye drop and drugs (which were what the eye doctors gave me when i came back home) couldn’t be prescribed to me? Its appalling

DRESS CODE
We live in the 21st century with alot of available fashion trends or hair styles which people of the older generation or millennia’s do not accept and that is wrong. A university should be a place where you get a certain freedom to explore your self and be creative, figure out yourself, make mistakes and learn from them and most importantly have lots of fun. Some rules were imposed on students about hairstyles we shouldn't make like dread locks, clothes we shouldnt wear for both male and female and its funny because these things are acceptable in other developed worlds. Ill post a link below on the article about our outfits.

https://thenigerialawyer.com/unilag-releases-dress-code-for-students/

https://lagschools.ng/unilag-introduces-dress-code-students-campus/

STUDENTS UNION

Ive heard of some of the activities carried out by the students union in the past but recently they have been really calm. I believe this is due to the fact that the leading members have graduated and left the school and because of this i believe the student union should be restructured and made more accountable for the students since we face alot of issues. The school had gone on a strike for over 1year and is planning to embark on another one, yet, we do not see any organized protest from the students union against any further strike as it has already affected the academic calender coupled with the past break from the corona virus pandemic

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IN CONCLUSION
Im happy that campus connect has given me an opportunity to express these views that are so pent up in my heart about my school . Im sure other students would have theirs. Rome wasnt built in a day but small steps make long journeys. I hope to see alot of changes in coming years not just for me but for the next generation of akokites coming into this prestigious institution
Thanks for reading

Cc
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