Egbewole tasks UNILORIN academics on new evaluation methods
By Bashir Dawodu
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has urged academic staff of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences to adopt new evaluation methods and standardised assessment procedures for undergraduate students.
Prof. Egbewole gave this charge last Tuesday (February 17, 2026) while declaring open a workshop organised by the Quality Assurance Committee of the Faculty.
The workshop, held at the New College Boardroom, was themed “Undergraduate Examination in Clinical Sciences: Crafting High-Quality Test Items for Sustainability and Excellence.”
The Vice Chancellor, who was represented by the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Prof. Biodun Suleiman Alabi, emphasised the need for strict adherence to the University’s established assessment protocols of the University to ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency in student evaluation.
He stressed that lecturers must follow the new marking guidelines to guarantee that students are assessed fairly and are not unjustly denied the marks they deserve.
The Vice Chancellor also commended the resource persons for their insightful presentations on grading strategies, particularly in handling borderline and failing students.
Prof. Egbewole appreciated the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Kolawole Wahab, for organising the training, especially at a period of increasing student enrollment in the College of Health Sciences.
In his personal remarks, the Provost congratulated participants for the opportunity to attend the workshop, noting that academic assessment methods must evolve with global best practices.
He encouraged lecturers to embrace new evaluation modalities and align with institutional standards, particularly regarding assessment duration and the number of examination questions to ensure uniformity.
In his welcome address, the Dean, Prof. Wahab stated that the workshop focused on enhancing the quality of test items in undergraduate clinical education and developing questions that effectively measure knowledge, clinical skills, and competencies.
He emphasised the importance of thorough preparation and review of examination questions to ensure reliability.
“A pot that will carry soup must first be tested for leaks,” he remarked, highlighting the need for careful exam preparation.
He encouraged lecturers and consultants from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) to actively participate and collaborate in strengthening clinical education standards.
In his remarks, the Director of the Quality Assurance Unit, Prof. AbdulRasaq Abdulmajeed Alaro, reiterated the fact that assessment remains the primary measure of teaching effectiveness.
“Assessment of students remains the only way to know whether you have succeeded as a teacher,” he stated, adding that ensuring students meet minimum standards is critical for maintaining quality output.
He noted that quality assurance must adopt a bottom-up approach, beginning at departmental and faculty levels, and assured participants that agreed measures would be enforced after the workshop.
Delivering a paper on “Global Best Practices in Setting Undergraduate OSCE Questions,” a retired Professor of Medicine and Consultant Nephrologist at the University of Ibadan/ University College Hospital, Prof. Solomon Kadiri, described the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) as a structured and objective method for assessing clinical competence through multiple short stations with standardized marking schemes.
He noted that while OSCE is comprehensive, fair, and reproducible, it requires significant organisational effort and continuous monitoring to ensure success.
Also speaking, a Professor of Paediatrics and Consultant Paediatrician at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ayo Ojuawo, spoke on “Rubrics for Setting Good Objective and Essay-Type Questions for Undergraduate Student Evaluation.”
Prof. Ojuawo stressed that assessment methods must align with educational goals and effectively test required knowledge and skills.
He added that good assessment systems should be fair, balanced, objective, transparent, and discriminative.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Faculty’s Quality Assurance Committee, Prof. A.S. Adeniran, noted a shift from traditional true/false multiple-choice questions to single-best-option formats in line with global advancements in medical education.
He expressed appreciation to the Dean for the opportunity to serve and reiterated that the workshop aimed to improve question-setting standards and align with global best practices in training, learning, and assessment.
