Pharmacy Programme Review In Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU

OAU logo

Obafemi Awolowo university (O.A.U) is another federal government owned research university located in the ancient city of Ile-ife, Osun state, Nigeria. It was founded in 1962. Academic activities commenced in October 1962 with its former name University of Ife by the regional government of western Nigeria. It was renamed OAU on May 12 1987 in honour of chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first premier of western Nigeria.
The university has 13 faculties and two colleges - the postgraduate college and the college of health sciences. They comprise of 60 department.
The first vice chancellor (V.C) was professor Oladela Ajose, a Glasgow university graduate and Nigeria first professor of public health recruited from the university of Ibadan from 1962 - 1966. Professor H. A. Oluwasanmi served from 1966 - 75 as second VC with Anthony Adebolu Elujoba, a professor of pharmacognosy as acting VC in July, 1975.

Mission

To nurture a teaching and learning community; advance frontiers of knowledge; engender a sense of selfless public service; and add value to African culture.

Vision

A top rated university in Africa.

Faculty of Pharmacy

Pharmacy was first established as a Department in the former Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan Branch, in the year 1957. When the University of Ife was established in 1962, it remained the Department within the Faculty of Science. It, however, continued to award the Diploma in Pharmacy degree till June 1965 while concurrently starting a programme for the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm.) degree in September 1963.
The Senate of the University decided during the 1968/69 session to upgrade the Department into a full Faculty status from 1st October, 1969, with four main departments: Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutics. Consequently, the growth of the Faculty continued at the Ibadan Campus of the University until it transferred to her present building on the Ile-Ife (home) campus in September 1972.
Read Also: The University Of Nigeria, UNN Pharmacy Programme Overview
Drug Research Unit, Pilot Drug Production Unit and Drug Quality Control Unit were incorporated into the Departments of Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, respectively. However, during the 1978/79 session the three units were merged into a Unit, now known as the ‘Drug Research and Production Unit.’ In 1983 this Unit became an autonomous department in the Faculty of Pharmacy. The department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration was physically and effectively established in November 1996.

Mode Of Admission

There are three routes to game admission into OAU which are;
1. Joint Admission And Matriculation Board (J.A.M.B) Unitary Tertiary Matriculation Examination (U.T.M.E)
2. Pre degree
3. Direct Entry (D.E)

JAMB UTME

The O'Level requirements are five credit in English language, physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology in not more than two sitting. Other than that, candidates who seek to school in OAU through post UTME must register for JAMB UTME and score above 200 while choosing OAU as first choice of study.
OAU post UTME form is sold online which cost ₦2000 from approved banks. The form is submitted together with uploaded credentials relevant for the process like JAMB data, O'Level result (or where applicable certificate), passport photographs and others necessary ones.
The pass for the post UTME is the OAU post UTME registration slip and JAMB UTME notification of result slip. The screening exercise is based on Jamb computer based test (C.B.T) of 40 multiple choice questions. The question type are from 3 subjects in JAMB with each subject having 10 questions. The last 10 questions are a combination of English language and aptitude test. The whole exercise last a period of one hour. Heard the questions are quiet easy and cheap. They even allow the use of normal scientifically calculator.
The cut off mark varies from year to year but the minimum cut off mark for any student to be considered for admission is 25 point from the post UTME. About 2295 candidates who choice OAU as first choice of study apply to study pharmacy. Those who took OAU as second choice and applied to study pharmacy were 12 in number. This brings the value to about 2307.

Pre Degree

With a minimum of five credits in English language, physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics from O'Level which should not be more than two sitting, pre degree is an alternative to post UTME. The programme duration is nine calendar months with two semesters with each semester coming to an end with an examination. Lectures from Monday to Friday prepared the student for the examination at the end of each semester. The lecture is a combination of three of the UTME subjects of physics, chemistry and biology. English is compulsory for all making it four subjects. The examination is CBT and the examination comes with 50 questions under one hour.
Application form for pre degree is ₦15000 and which is processed online and money paid to an approved bank. The online form is filled and submitted together with passport photograph and other relevant credentials.
All applicants who successfully completed the above process will sit for an entrance examination. The entrance examination is simple and it span across all three core subjects. The centre for the entrance examination is at Chams city, Lagos digital village, behind Ikeja shopping mall, Ikeja, Lagos state. The other center is at Moro, Ile-ife.
The pass to enter is application form receipt. Calculator are allowed. The questions varies from 80 to 90 under one hour. It is CBT. Result comes out almost immediately. All are pre degree students must register, write and score above 200 in JAMB UTME.
The school fees is ₦187500 for male students while female students are required to pay ₦222500. Fortunately, the school provides accommodation for pre degree students which goes for ₦40000. Exodus hostel is open to pre degree students. Others are comfort hostel, Efritin hostel, Oyabamiji hostel, NYC hostel. Biev hostel is reserve for females.

Direct Entry

In addition to five credit from O'Level in English language, physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, applicants must posses a certificate of A Level or a first degree. A level requirement include three A level credit in physics, chemistry and biology. They accept Joint University preliminary Examination Board (J.U.P.E.B) certificate but not Interim Joint Matriculation Board (I.J.M.B) certificate. The academic requirements for those with first degree is a second class (honours) lower division.
The JUPEB programme application form goes for ₦15000. The programme requirement is five O'Level credit in English language, physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in not more than two sittings. It is divided into two semester with two examinations. Lectures from monday through friday every week before examination. The school fees is ₦225000 with accommodation which goes for ₦40000. The final examination gives the student about 70% of the total grade while the first examination provides 30% of it. The final examination is set and manage by the JUPEB while the first examination is managed by the host school.
The final examination span a period of three weeks. Each day play host to two examinations from two subjects that takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. The questions are theory including practicals. The subject combination are physics, chemistry and biology. English language is compulsory.
All DE candidates must buy JAMB DE form and choose OAU as first choice of study. Successful applicants can then proceed to buy OAU DE form which cost ₦2000 online. There is no screening exercise for DE students. The screening is based on those who pass the A Level cut off mark or those who have good result in first degree which should be forwarded to the admission office for processing.

Catchment Area

OAU operates with catchment hence applicants should take note of the states. They are;

• Osun State
• Ekiti State
• Lagos State
• Oyo State
• Ondo State

However, educated less developed states candidates may be considered

Undergraduate Pharmacy

Things start to get pretty easy from year one especially for those who have passed through their previous programme. Although year one or first year still carries so much financial burden. All new entry students are expected to pay the sum of ₦2000 as acceptance. This does not end as each new entry is also expected to pay another developmental levy of ₦18000. Funny if you ask me. Somehow I guess the acceptance is same thing as the developmental levy. Whatever the case, students should do well to make further inquires on this before jumping into conclusion. Returning students have a lesser burden as their school fees drop to ₦33700 until graduation. Late registration attract a penalty of ₦2000.

School Hostel

When I first came across the hostel fees, I was shocked. So cheap. But as they say cheap articles they pain belle. So true is this case. All fresh men and final year students are given more preference provided they come first. Fresh students pay ₦3090 for hostel while other levels pay ₦2590. The rooms are equip to accommodate 4 persons but end up carrying much more than that like 7.
According to the VC, the actual hostel fee is ₦90. The other fees are for maintenance. You will already guess the bad shape of the hostel as the students currently lament. But that is not of my concern anyway.
Application for bed space by fresh men and final year is through the  eportal after payment of appropriate fees including accommodation fees. Copies of bed space clearance form from the eportal which should be duly signed by the student and hall warden. One copy is for the student why the other two copies goes to the dean of student affairs and hall warden. The other students do balloting to secure their own bed space. There are 10 halls of residence for students both Undergraduate degree students and post graduate. The halls for undergraduates are
Male hostels
1. Awolowo hall
2. Angola hall for first year male students mainly
3. Etifrin hall
4. Fajuyi hall
Female hostels
1. Alumni hall
2. Ladace Akintola hall
3. Mozambique hall for first year female students mainly
4. Moremi hall
5. Comfort hall

Off Campus Hostel

Honestly, I thought I have seen the most expensive of campus hostels in UNILAG not until I came here. Some certain self contain goes for ₦300000 and cannot compete favourably with some at UNILAG with same amount in terms of facilities and design. Self contain/bed sitters range from ₦90000 up to ₦300000. On the other hand, single rooms are between ₦50000 up to ₦130000 but depends on several factors like distance to campus.

Pharmacy Post Graduate

The Faculty also has established postgraduate programmes in all her departments. The philosophy of Pharmacy education is to produce graduates with a wide range of scientific, professional and managerial competence which best serves the needs of the community and who possess sufficient adaptability to meet the demands of a changing health care delivery.
Thus, the objectives therefore are:
To equip the graduates with material knowledge required to perform pharmaceutical services in the industry, community, health institutions etc .
To train postgraduate students in Pharmacy, candidates need process their application online. One of the first thing needed by OAU is transcript. The transcript form is downloaded from the site and filled by the candidates first degree university. Payment of the proscribe application fee of ₦15000 for Post graduate diploma form and ₦20000 for professional programmes. Other relevant documents necessary such as O'Level result, Jamb admission letter, passport photograph, etc.
Read Also: A Review Of University Of Lagos, Unilag Pharmacy Programme
The admission requirement into postgraduate diploma is a second class lower (honours) degree from other universities or a third class from OAU. Masters degree require nothing lower than second class (honours) lower division degree from OAU or any other recognise university. Masters of philosophy shall posses a first class or a strong second class (upper division) with cumulative grade point average (C.G.P.A) of 4.0 and above. Doctor of philosophy must posses a master degree with research thesis and weighted course work average which shall normally be not less than 60% (B+).
Successful applicants will be made to face OAU screening exercise. It is a GMAT format (analytical and verbal reasoning) as well as general knowledge. There are some rules also that must be followed such as candidate must state if he or she is currently in another PG programme or not. This can lead to disqualification when found out.
Candidates are notified when they are admitted and ask to pay school fees. PGD students pay ₦120000, academic/master of philosophy pays ₦130000 as school fees. The PhD students are expected to pay a whopping sum of ₦220000 for their school fees. The PG hostel is Murtala Muhammad and accommodate males and females students. The price maybe around ₦40000 but I was not able to verify this figure.
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