1st class not success determinant- Dean

Seyifunmi Soremekun, Jumoke Taiwo, Abimbola Adelakun, and Nwokenna Chinwe

The Dean of the faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos, Dr. Emmanuel Olateju Olatoye, has discredited the saying that students who don’t finish with first class might not be successful.

Olatoye,a doctor of business administration who said this in an exclusive interview with UNILAG Sun, noted that being successful cannot be determined by finishing with first class. 

“If a student does not finish with a first-class, it doesn’t mean the student is bad. Not everybody can be excellent. And that doesn’t mean they won’t be successful, it all depends on how the individual adjusts the situation after graduating”, the business administration lecturer explained.

Dr. Olatoye advised all students to acquire some before graduating which would serve as stepping stones for them, whether as first-class students or not.

“It is very important to learn a skill as an undergraduate. You should not just depend on this certificate. Make sure you’re loaded”, he said.

He commended the university’s initiative of an entrepreneurship centre which is open to all students from all faculties. The centre,  located at the core of the Faculty of Social Science, Akoka Campus is an entrepreneurship initiative that provides students with a workshop where they are taught how to create startups and enterprises out of their disciplines and talents.

“I like the way the University of Lagos is going now, because no matter your discipline, even if you are reading Yoruba, there will be a course in entrepreneurship that you must go through”, Dr. Olatoye explained. 

Speaking about his tenure, the dean noted that he had facilitated partnerships with financial institutions to bridge the gap between town and gown.

He revealed that talks are ongoing between firms and the faculty to organize training for undergraduates and fresh graduates.

He said, “We have written to the CEO of some organizations that we’d like to visit and have a discussion with them on how we can be useful to them and how they (can be) to us; Both as researchers and to our students when they’re doing their projects. If possible, how some of the organizations can even take our students on a few months or few weeks training before graduation.