The Nation Newspaper

Tag: National University Commission (NUC)

  • NUC approves new Bayelsa’s varsity in Dickson’s village

    NUC approves new Bayelsa’s varsity in Dickson’s village

    The National University Commission (NUC) has approved the University of Africa (UA), Toru-Orua, the community of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, as the 43rd state university in the country.

    Its approval was reportedly followed the formal presentation of the relevant gazette law, academic brief, physical master plan and the report of the advisory assessment visit by the commission.

    The UA, Toru-Orua, is said to be an initiative of the Bayelsa State Government expected to run as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project.

    The state government is required to only provide the enabling environment, while the financing would reportedly come from the private sector.

    The NUC was said to have given its nod for the university in a letter dated July 28, 2016.

    According to a statement signed by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, congratulated the state government.

    He noted that, the establishment of the university took effect from the 28th of July, having complied with the basic requirements adding that the AU is also the 143rd in the Nigerian university system.

    In the statement, Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson led a delegation of top government officials to the office of the commission in Abuja and were received by executive secretary, who briefed the governor on the latest development and the approval of the university.

    The statement disclosed that, Okojie handed over the letter of approval to Dickson during the visit, and commended him for the initiative.

    In his remarks, Dickson thanked Okojie for the warm reception accorded him and his team, explaining that, the AU, Toru-Orua was conceived as a public private partnership.

    He said it was designed as a first rate institution of learning that would also attract some of the best teachers from Africa and the world.

    He said the university would be funded by its partners and the government would only provide the enabling environment for its establishment.

    Dickson said, there was need for more fee-paying private universities to be established adding that it was the only way to make funding of tertiary institutions viable and sustainable.

    He said: “I am here leading this small delegation to present to you these laws passed by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, establishing a new university that we want to bring about working with the private sector. It will be run on a PPP basis.

    “It is a University unlike the existing one, it will not be directly funded by the state. Our belief is that moving forward for a university to be sustainable, we must create room for private sector participation and involvement.

    “The University of Africa, Toru-Orua, is the first of its kind in this country, that is established by government with private sector involvement and it will be strictly a fee paying tertiary institution that will attract students from across the continent and the globe. It will be the model as we encourage more private universities in this country.”

  • LAUTECH to graduate 10,317, 105 first class, 112 Ph.D

    LAUTECH to graduate 10,317, 105 first class, 112 Ph.D

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, will on Friday graduate 10,317 students and  conferred first class honours on 105 graduands and 112 doctorate degrees on Post graduates students at its 13th convocation ceremony.

     

    The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin disclosed this while addressing journalists at press conference held at the newly built TETFUND hall, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, on Wednesday.

     

    Gbadegin disclosed that this year’s convocation ceremony commenced on April 15 and will end on Saturday April 23, with the university conferring honours on a total of 10,317 first degrees on persons for the award of degrees in both 2013/2014 and 2014 and 2014/2015 academic sessions.

     

    According to him, 105 make first class honours; 50 student’s in 2013/14 and 55 students in 2014/15 academic sessions, while for the first time LAUTECH crossed the 100 landmark for doctorate degrees with 112 students for Ph.D.

     

    Other categories  Gbadegesin said  includes; 2,434 students in the second class upper division, 5,527 students in Second class Lower Division, 1,692 in the Third Class Division, 122 in the Third Class Division and 437 in the unclassified category.

     

    The university don also disclosed  that Ige Olufemi Elijah of the Department of Mathematics and Sanni Saidat Abidemi of the department of Statistics emerged best graduating students for 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 respectively.

     

    Ige emerged with 4.85 Cumulative Grade Point of Average (CGPA), while Saidat emerged over all best student of the institution this session with 4.88 CGPA.

     

    Furthermore, the institution will also graduates a total of 14,349 individuals in postgraduates degrees on Saturday, April 23.

     

    On Thursday, April 21, the institution will hold its Convocation titled “Maintaining quality University of Technology in the 21st century: Leveraging globalisation, sustainability and technology” by an erudite Professor and Dean of the College of Management, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA, Professor Abel Femi Adekola.

     

    He promised that the institution will not rest on its oars, that LAUTECH is not just creating the best in academics but the very best in our chosen specialisation of thinking for our nation.

     

    “As a University of Technology, the onus is on us to continue to develop ideas and systems that would steadily propel the country to greatness to such an extent that we will become self sustaining in food production, technological advancement and whatever other thing that enlists us among the comity of developed countries of the world.

     

    “More than anything else, we are believers in the “can do right” and are emboldened to rededicate ourselves to further drive the vision that will re-position our University as ‘primus inter pares’.”

     

    Gbadegesin further informed that the university has also “sought and got the approval of the National University Commission (NUC) for a licence for the Opena nd Distance Learning. The NUC, having been convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the University has the capacity to run the programme, granted the approval to enable us run Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc) programme in computer science through Open and Distance Learning while approval for other degree programme is being processed.”