The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Felix Kolawole Salako has charged the Newly-Matriculated students of the University to acquaint themselves with the University’s rules and regulations as it is one of the primary responsibilities of FUNAABites.

Delivering his Address at the 2020/2021 Matriculation Ceremony and the Ninth Commencement Lecture held on November 24, 2021, the Vice-Chancellor warned the fresh students to strictly comply with the rules and regulations, adding that the University has zero tolerance for anti-social behaviours.

The Vice-Chancellor further warned that though the University recognises students’ rights, the Management will not tolerate any form of destructive acts by students in the name of Unionism or any guise.

According to him, “You are to note that Student Union is available on campus, but ours is devoid of thuggery and hooliganism, but with decorum and constructive dialogue. Failure of dialogue means there is still room for more dialogue. To us, dialogue is far better than confrontation, and so the University will therefore, not tolerate any form of destructive acts by students in the name of Unionism”.

Admonishing the fresh students to seek clarifications from the Student Affairs Division if some sections of the rules and regulations are unclear to them, Professor Salako reiterated the age-long maxim of “There is no ignorance in law”. He added that the University expects all students to display high level of discipline in their interactions with both fellow students and members of staff.

He, however, enjoined the fresh students to bring to the attention of the University authorities through the Student Affairs Division any form of harassment and complaints, stating that the University shall always recognise the rights of students and protect them.

The Vice-Chancellor, therefore, urged the newly-matriculated students to cultivate the habit of dressing decently at all times, adding that while the University respects traditional culture, it should not be at variance with the University’s Dress Code.

Professor Salako maintained that FUNAAB is committed to its vision and mission of producing graduates adequately equipped to handle contemporary challenges through cutting edge research for development in Agriculture and Science that is driven by Information and Communications Technology (ICT), noting that the University is resolute in flying its core values of academic excellence tied with integrity, accountability, high moral standards as well as ethical behaviour and fairness in all relationship with students and staff.

According to him, one of the University’s goals is to build men and women who would be great achievers in their chosen fields of interest and academic pursuits. His words, “To achieve this goal, our fresh students must strive at all times to uphold excellence and they must also avail themselves of the various programmes, events, and activities provided by the University from time to time.”

Encouraging the newly-matriculated students to be self-reliant, the Vice-Chancellor stressed that they should not use the abundant unsupervised periods on non-productive gestures as most lectures are going to be through virtual learning.

Meanwhile, the Ninth Commencement Lecture was titled, “Technopreneurship in the Age of Global Citizenship and was delivered by the President, Abeokuta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ABEOCCIMA), Sir Jare Oyesola, who is also the CEO of Jaroy Investment Limited.