The University of Ilesa, Osun State, on Wednesday disclosed that the institution has secured National Universities Commission approval for 97 academic programmes, including Medicine and Surgery.
It added that the university has recorded major milestones within three years of take-off, growing its student population from under 1,000 to over 15,000.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Taiwo Olufemi Asaolu, who made this known at a press conference held on campus to mark the institution’s progress since its upgrade from the erstwhile Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, in April 2023, also revealed that Governor Ademola Adeleke has approved the upgrade of the State General Hospital, Ilesa, to the University of Ilesa Teaching Hospital.
On infrastructure and the teaching hospital, “the university has recovered 15 acres of land and 24 housing units built on its property by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The site will host the proposed Faculty of Technology.”
He said the facility is being revamped to support clinical training and provide healthcare services to Ijesaland and its environs.
Professor Asaolu, however, stated that, “UNILESA now runs 97 NUC-approved programmes, including Law, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, Optometry, Chinese Studies, and Special Education. The NUC has also approved the commencement of the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme, with the university awaiting concurrent approval from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).”
The Vice-Chancellor stressed that, “40 of our academic programmes currently enjoy full accreditation status from the NUC. The feat is quite encouraging for a three-year-old university.”
He added that a new Faculty of Technology has been established, starting with Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechatronics Engineering. Student enrolment now exceeds 15,000 across bachelor’s degree, JUPEB, pre-degree, and other programmes, a development he said “reflects public confidence in the quality and relevance of UNILESA’s academic offerings.”
The university inherited ‘dilapidated and obsolete structures, demoralised staff, dwindled student population of less than 1,000, overgrown bushes, dirty premises, and collapsing infrastructure’ but now has ‘a good story to tell.’”
Asaolu credited TETFund, NELFUND, the Owa Obokun Adimula, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, the Ijesa community, Zenith Bank Plc, and other donors for funding projects seen during a campus tour. He highlighted the university’s 18-hole golf course, which recently hosted the Professional Golfers’ Association’s 15th Qualifying School Seminar.
“In a strategic move, the university has made academic programmes in the Faculties of Education and Agriculture tuition-free, while staff wards enjoy a 50% discount on tuition. ‘We cannot afford to leave the teaching profession in the hands of non-professionals and quacks,’ the VC said.”
UNILESA has also set up an Integrated Teaching and Research Farm with a cattle ranch, fish ponds, poultry, and agro-processing facilities. Students receive hands-on training in 13 vocational areas, including Solar Energy Systems Installation, Adire Production, Digital Content Creation, and Agribusiness.”
On staff welfare and road infrastructure, Asaolu praised Governor Adeleke for resolving inherited labour crises. Over 300 staff who were on temporary appointments earning less than ₦25,000 monthly were granted permanent status. Outstanding allowances of over ₦3 billion owed to permanent staff, retirees, and next-of-kin of deceased staff were also fully paid.
The governor, he said, approved the reconstruction of the university’s road network, which had been in a “deplorable condition since 2005”. “He did not merely give us a university; he is giving us a befitting citadel of learning,” Asaolu stated.
The VC noted that UNILESA students have excelled in sports, debate, and talent hunts. Some accounting students have begun passing ICAN professional examinations, with one 300-level student clearing the final stage.
The university has hosted international conferences and held its first inaugural lecture in March 2026, as well as a maiden Distinguished Personality Public Lecture by Dr Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman, National Revenue Service.”
Despite the gains, Asaolu listed three key challenges: inadequate on-campus accommodation serving less than 30% of students, unreliable public power supply, and the need for more lecture halls, laboratories, and offices.
We are encouraged by the progress recorded thus far and are determined to sustain and surpass it,” he said, appreciating the Governing Council, staff, students, donors, and the Ijesa community for their support in “Project UNILESA,” he added.