Lagos State University: Is LASU truly the best state institution in Nigeria?

Lagos State University is believed to be the best state owned university in Nigeria but this claim has not been established by the NUC.

Have you ever heard anyone say Lagos State University is the best state institution in Nigeria?

If you haven't, this is one of the popular beliefs about the state university that was established in 1983.

This narrative has been on for a very long time and it keeps getting more popular each time the university is in the news for one achievement or the other.

Obviously, the ranking that makes LASU wear this title is not coming from the National University Commission, because the NUC recently said it has not ranked universities in so many years.

So, who ranks LASU as the best state institution in Nigeria?

 

If at all NUC would rank the universities in Nigeria, it won't be on ownership bases, instead, the ranking would be based on research, infrastructure, and quality of alumni of the school.

Could there have been a time in a distant past that LASU was rated the best state university?

What could possibly be the advantage the school has over other third generation universities in the country?

 

We honestly don't know this but, we ask two lecturers of the university  what they think about this narrative, and here is what he says.

"This claim about LASU must have emanated from some sources, I can't recall where or when I got it from, but the university's online presence and the conscious efforts being made to ensure all staff subscribe to new technology could be one of the reasons that strengthen the claim. Don't forget it is the first state varsity to own a radio station and it is coming up with its TV  station soon.

 Corroborating his colleague, the second lecturer said, 'I am not aware of any ranking that announces Lagos State University as the best state institution in  Nigeria, but I think part of the conclusion on which that narrative is based is the university's affinity with Lagos being the centre of excellence''.

The lecturer added that the best state university claims could be attributed to the vibrancy of the academic staff union, the performance of LASU students in international competitions in recent times and the belief that the school belongs to the city that always comes first in terms of innovations.

Of course,  an academic institution usually shares in the success story of its alumni. And if this is one of the yardsticks for raking an educational higher institution, LASU too would have a lot of famous faces to call its own in business, politics and entertainment industry.

The likes of the former EFCC Chairman, Farida Waziri, Desmond Elliot, Annie Macaulay-Idibia, the current Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Idayat Oluranti Adebule and many others are products of the university.

But is this really enough to make it the best state university? Maybe.

Lagos State University may be enjoying what other state institutions do not have. It may also have certain privilege over its counterparts in other states. And the students of these school might have truly at some points won internationally recognized competitions, but if the different claims that support this best state university narrative does not have a  recognized ranking, it will only go down as a fallacy.

posted by Campus94