On Thursday, December 28, 2023, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, mni, NPOM, Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), launched the new multipurpose Smart ID card for faculty, staff, and students at the university. The single-purpose ID cards that employees and students currently use are intended to be replaced with the smart ID card.
Just prior to the start of the Senate meeting on Thursday, the Vice Chancellor and other members of the university management team introduced the card to the university community by demonstrating one of its functions as an attendance management system for large student classes.
The Senate’s Secretariat had an Attendance Management Device set up, which allowed the VC, DVC, Administration, Prof. Adenike Boyo, DVC Academics, Prof. Folusho Omobitan, and Registrar, Mr. Emmanuel FANU, to clock into the chambers and facilitate the demonstration.
Senate members applauded the VC for realizing the Smart Card concept and acknowledged the ICT for the advancement. The user must tap the ID card on the installed device in order to use it.
The gadget will log the holders’ attendance and display their name and other details. The Vice Chancellor said that the Smart ID Card will be manufactured and distributed to users in batches after a successful test.
Deputy registrars, newly accepted 100-level students, members of the university Senate, and administrators make up the first group of users. In her speech during the multifunctional card’s debut in the Senate Chamber, Prof. Toyin Enikuomehin, Director of ICT, stated that the new ID card will be used as a mechanism for tracking attendance in large classrooms as well as a means of identifying staff and students.
He added that the card can also be used as an Interswitch-powered ATM card linked to a bank account.
For this reason, he asked employees and students to give their National Identity Number (NIN) so that the card could be activated and then released.It is anticipated that the new Smart ID Card will go on sale in the middle of January 2024.