The University of Ilorin’s Institute of Education has assured its part-time students not to lose hope regarding the 2020 contact session despite the disruption in the academic year occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Prof. Ayodele Fajonyomi, the Director of the Institute, told newsmen during an interview in Ilorin that all measures had been put in place to redeem the session, which traditionally runs between July and October.

Fajonyomi said: “The institute will continue to engage its students in discussions on the mode that the part-time programme will take once schools are reopened .

“IOE programmes are primarily designed for the working-class students, who are adults.

“The age of enrollment of our students is dropping as qualified secondary school leavers are showing interests in part-time programmes.

“This is  because they have realised that the programmes of the institute have the same quality and entry requirements as that of  the regular programmes.

“Also, there is no discrepancy in the value of certificates issued at the end of both regular and part-time programmes.”

According to Fajonyomi, the Institute’s programmes are more flexible than those of the regular programmes.

He added that the ongoing interaction with the students was to assess their access to internet facilities in their various locations.

He added that it was  also to know how they had been to use the internet in view of the age of some of the students.

Also, the Deputy Director of the IOE, Dr. Toyin Bakinde, said though the graduates of the institute are exempted from participating in the National Youth Service Scheme, former students of the institute had been excelling in their chosen fields.

Bakinde added that those that enrolled in  the Institute have an advantage of programmes which are not available for regular students such as photography.

He told the graduating students of the institute that the University of Ilorin’s Senate had already approved their results.

He said the results would be published as soon as the Federal Government reopens tertiary institutions.