The Nation Newspaper

Tag: varsity

  • Varsity debunks ‘tremor’ claims

    Varsity debunks ‘tremor’ claims

    Contrary to what was described as earthquake in the main library of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba, the school management has debunked the claims, saying that what happened was the “puffing” of the floors of the library.

    Acting Librarian, Mr Paul Idachaba, who made the clarification, said the wheezing noise caused panic among students. Some students were injured in the chaos that followed an alleged vibration of the library building.

    Asked what caused the “puffing”, Idachaba said it was due to the swelling of the floor tiles, insisting that no vibration was felt in the library. He said building was safe for reading.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that there was a rush after students heard wheezing sound from a section of the library floor. Out of fear, the students ran out of the building.

    •One of the shelves damaged by the students
    •One of the shelves damaged by the students

    Idachaba said: “None of the students using the library at the time tried to find out what happened after they heard the puffing sound from the floor tiles. They took to their heels; some of them, out of fear, ran into the new shelves and shattered the glass which got a number of them injured.

    “What happened was not a tremor because tremors don’t occur on spots like that. If it was tremor, we would have seen the walls and parts of the walls cracked. But, there is nothing like that.”

    The librarian conducted CAMPUSLIFE round the building to assess the spot. He assured students that management was doing everything to ensure their safety.

    Idachaba said when the support building of the library is completed, it would assist in decongesting the main building.

  • AAUA is SW most subscribed varsity

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has listed Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, as the ‘Most subscribed university’ in Southwest and the 20th most-sought-after university in Nigeria.

    According to JAMB’s statistics of choice institutions for the year, 22,832 candidates chose AAUA as first choice, while 165, 22, and two candidates picked the university as second, third and fourth choice.

    Thirteen federal and seven state universities made the top 20 list.’

    The University of Ilorin topped the list while the University of Benin and Nnamdi Azikiwe University emerged first and second runners-up.

  • Fanfare as Ondo college becomes varsity

    It was a week of fanfare at the Federal University of Education in Ondo State as students celebrated the upgrade of Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) to Federal University of Education. ACE is one of the four colleges recently elevated to university by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    President of Students’ Union Government (SUG), Kamorudeen Isiaka, described the upgrade as landmark achievement, saying the school could no longer be under the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to issue degree certificates. With the autonomy, he said, the school’s certificates would now be acceptable.

    Joy Thomson, a student of Home Economics Department, said she was happy about the development, pointing out that the school would no longer take approval from OAU.

    Ayomikun Iwamitigha, a student of Biology Department, said the upgrading was a good development that should excite its alumni.

    Oreoluwa Adeniran, a Physical and Health Education student, concern was whether the  National Certificate in Examination (NCE) students would be issued degree certificates.

    She said: “What will be the fate of the NCE students? Are they going to be dragged out of the campus like their counterpart in Tai Solarin College of Education (TASUED) after it was upgraded to university of Education?”

    The Provost, Prof Olukoya Ogen, said no student would be sent away after the upgrading. He said: “Students should put their minds at rest; I assure them that their interest will be considered. We are also trying to make Direct Entry easy for NCE holders.”

  • VC urges support for his vision to put varsity among best

    VC urges support for his vision to put varsity among best

    In his effort to reposition the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE), Delta State, the third substantive Vice-Chancellor, Prof Akii Ibhadode, has urged stakeholders to support his vision to make the university one of the best 500 in the world.

    He made the appeal during a press briefing held on Tuesday, where he reiterated his determination to exploit opportunity windows to produce high-level manpower for the oil and gas industry.

    Prof Ibhadode said as a specialised institution, FUPRE has certain privileges in the nation’s petroleum industry, which it can develop to attract special privilege among oil companies to get funding for researches and training equipment.

    He said the university also has plans to generate income from consultancy training. He promised to leverage on existing resources, such as physical facilities and others to increase staff motivation and improved learning.

    He said: “There are ongoing talks to collaborate with the industries and foreign universities. The programme of the university is structured to meet global requirements in the industry as prevalent in the other petroleum universities of the world. I also want to use students’ projects to solve real problems in the petroleum and allied industry, which would increase the school reputation and boost income for the school.”

    The VC said quality of teaching and learning in the school had enabled students to excel in global competitions, noting that alumni of the institution, who did their Master’s degree at the Institute of Petroleum Studies of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), emerged the best and were sponsored for doctoral programme abroad by the McArthur Foundations.

    If substantially implemented, Prof Ibhadode assured that his programmes would attract massive development to the school. He promised to improve laboratory performance of students through workshops and research to bolster the academic status of the university.

    He said he would maintain the accreditation status of the school, promising to get approval for programmes still in interim accreditation stage.

    Pledging to strengthen relationship with the host communities, the VC hailed the traditional rulers and people of Uvwie, Ugbmro and Iteregbi communities for their commitment and support for his vision.

  • Varsity inducts doctors

    No fewer than 50 graduates of Medicine and Surgery were inducted at the Abia State University (ABSU) in Uturu last Thursday by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

    The event, held in the school auditorium, was attended by dignitaries.

    The inductees, who were in blue academic gowns, beamed with smiles as they led a procession into the auditorium, where their family members and friends were seated.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Chibuzo Ogbuagu, represented by his deputy, Prof Ifeanyi Elekwa, hailed the lecturers of the Faculty of Basic Health Sciences for nurturing the young doctors.

    He advised the inductees not to engage in practices that could tarnish the university’s image, stressing that the MDCN would be forced to withdraw license of anyone found compromising ethics of the profession.

    The Provost of the college, Prof Christian Aluka, praised the management for supporting the activities of the medical school.

    Advising the graduands, he said: “I congratulate you on the achievement. Society expects more from you in character and morality. Your induction today marks the beginning of your career in medical practice. I advise you to practice with the fear of God. You must put the welfare of your patients first and render skillful and competent service.”

    Aluka urged the graduands to keep themselves abreast of new development in medical practice, saying they should strive to update their knowledge and specialise in an area of medicine to be efficient practitioners.

    Prof Paul Feyi-Wabaso, Dean of Faculty of Clinical Medicine urged the inductees to dress properly. He taught the doctors some medical ethics.

    Highpoint of the event was the administration of the Hippocratic Oath on the inductees by the MDCN representative, Dr Oji Kalu Oji. Certificates of practice were also issued to the graduands.

    Gloria Nkechinyere Davidson receieved honours and award for being the best graduating student. Her sister, Dr Esther Nzotta, achieved the same feat in previous induction. Gloria attributed her success to God and hard work.

    She said: “I would not have achieved this feat if not for God and also my parents who supported me. Medicine and Surgery is very tough discipline, but I conquered it with hard work. I am grateful to have a sister, who achieved the same feat. Throughout my stay in medical school, she encouraged me.”

    An inductee, Chukwuma Okereke, said he was elated to be inducted as a doctor. He said: “The journey has not been easy, but God  helped me to surmount challenges I encountered in medical school.”

  • Varsity teachers back Saraki for Senate President

    Political science teachers from Nigerian universities and Kwara Elite Group have thrown their weight behind former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki for the Senate President.

    The university lecturers spoke in Malete, Moro local government area, at the end of a roundtable conference on the Presidency of the 8th Senate. The conference was organised by the Kwara State University (KWASU).

    The university teachers came from Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun State, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Ondo State University, Akungba Akoko, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti and host KWASU.

    Dr. Jeremiah Omotola, also of the Department of Political Science, Redeemers’ University, discussed how Senator Saraki’s antecedents could positively and negatively shape the contest.

    He listed Saraki’s antecedents as sterling performance while at the Budget Office in the Presidency.

    Dr Omotola said Saraki’s virtues include exceptional wisdom, maturity, and dexterity, which were deployed to stabilise the Governors Forum as the Chairman of the strategic inter-governmental relations body.

    The stability witnessed during Senator Bukola Saraki’s tenure, according to Dr. Omotola, show-cased the rich human relations credentials of Senator Bukola.

    He also highlighted the central role played by Bukola in successfully managing the process of defection of the 5 break-away governors from the Peoples Democratic Party.

  • Varsity lectures students on entrepreneurship

    Varsity lectures students on entrepreneurship

    The Ekiti State University (EKSU) has organised an entrepreneurship orientation for its students as part of its move to entrench vocational education in the school curriculum. The school had initially asked the students to pay N1,000 for the compulsory Entrepreneurship Skill Course (ESC), which was introduced last semester; this led to a protest by the students, who described the payment as extortion.

    Two months after the protest, the story has changed as the management gave reasons for students to participate in the entrepreneurship course. The ESC Director, Dr Abel Awe, said the school was ready to commence entrepreneurship course in the current semester.

    A 200-Level Law student, Kemisola Olalemi, said the course was being taught with inconsistent outline, noting that the ESC 201 examination taken in the first semester was different from what students were taught in the class. “The examination questions were purely objectives and there was no question on practical knowledge,” she said.

    Dr Awe reacted that the management made wanted the students to go through the theoretical aspect of the course before the introducing them to practice. He said: “Students must understand the reason they need to take the course and the benefits they can gain from it. Those in 300-Level and below are the major beneficiaries of this course, because they would have to go through two theoretical aspects before they are allowed to practise.”

    Anini Tega, a student of the Faculty of Art, asked to know why the management introduce the course when students could not get certification in it. He argued the course has increased students’ course credit load.

    In response, Dr Awe said the aim of the course was to train students to be self-reliant after their degree programme. “We don’t want to be producing graduates to be unemployed; we want to make our product to be employers of labour,” he said.

    The course, he said, would teach students how to start barbing, fish farming and snail rearing, fashion designing, bead making, make-up artistry, catering, furnishing and carpentry, graphic art designing, brick making and printing. He disclosed that the school had provided the equipment for the course and had employed personnel to train them in different areas.

    Dr Abel Awe said students needed not to worry about start-up capital for any vocation they chose, noting that the school had made arrangement with Ekit State Chamber of Commerce and Nigeria Development Bank for to the students to access soft loans of N100,000.

  • KSU belongs to grade ‘A’ varsity

    Contrary to the purported 2015 ranking of Nigerian universities published by a blog site, Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba, Prof Hassan Isah, has dismissed his school’s position on the list.

    Prof Isah said the university belongs to Category A in the comity of universities as confirmed by independent accreditation bodies and the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    He debunked the assertion that that ranking was released by the NUC, saying the commission does not carry out rankings. What NUC does time to time, the VC said, is accreditation of programmes of universities.

    He said after accreditation visit to schools, the NUC team would inform stakeholders on the outcome of the exercise through a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of such school. The reports, he said, are published weekly in the NUC bulletin and publication on its website.

    He said there were no programmes denied accreditation in the university and that, 75 per cent of the school programmes had full accreditation status. He said any university with 70 per cent or more of its programmes on full accreditation belongs to category A.

    KSU, he added, scored 71.45 per cent in the first institutional accreditation conducted in 2011, which he said represented ‘A’ status and valid for seven years. He said the university was among first-rated state universities and seventh among 26 major universities.

    Prof Isah said the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), last August, also conducted its own accreditation visitation to the university to assess its Accounting programme, at the end of which the university was scored 76 per cent.

    He assured parents and guardians that the school is in good hands and have a healthy academic status.

  • Varsity inducts 52 medical doctors

    Varsity inducts 52 medical doctors

    No fewer than 52 graduating students of the College of Health Sciences of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) took Hippocratic Oath at a ceremony held at the school auditorium on Tuesday last week.

    The Deputy Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly Muhammad Gana Yisa led the pack of dignitaries to the 26th induction of the university.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Abdullah Zuru, was represented by his deputy for Administration, Prof Malamin Mode.

    Provost of College of Health Sciences, Prof Mungadi, in his address, said the college had produced some of the best medical doctors in the country, saying there was no doubt the graduands would have courage to repeat the excellence for which the college is known.

    The VC congratulated the inductees on the successful completion of their programme, urging them to adhere to the ethics of the profession. He also advised them to be ambassadors of the university and use there knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

    Yisa said he was delighted to be at the ceremony and to witness induction of his first son into medical profession. He congratulated the graduands and advised them to uphold the ethics and use it to guide their conduct.

    Prof A.U. Sanga of the Economics Department said: “The management deserves our praise for providing conducive environment at the college for the graduands to achieve their aims. They are fortunate to pass through school. I will advise them to serve humanity with the oath they have taken.”

    Chief Medical Director of the school’s Teaching Hospital, Dr Yakubu Sheu, said the graduands worked for three years in the Teaching Hospital, praising the provost for creating a level playing field for all the graduates. He said the graduands were exposed to low and extreme cases while at the hospital, urging them to follow to the rule of the practice.

    The highpoint was the administration of the oath on the inductees and their introduction to the profession.

     

  • Varsity counsels students against vices

    The Department of Counselling of the Crawford University in Atan-Agbara, Ogun State has held a counselling session for its students with the theme: Counselling towards academic excellence. The event was held at the school Multipurpose Hall.

    The session was aimed at educating the students about the positive effects of seeking counseling while they stay on the campus.

    Speaking on Counselling services and the benefits to staff and students of tertiary institutions, the institution’s Guidance Counsellor, Mrs Olushola Coker, said good counselling would help students to reach upper most level in social, educational and economic development.

    Represented by Dr E.O. Aramide, a counsellor, Mrs Coker, however, said counselling cannot proffer solutions to all human problems but said good advice could assist in reducing social problem facing mankind.

    She advised higher institutions to integrate guiding and counselling into their curriculum irrespective of discipline to guide the youth aright and build a peaceful nation.

    Dr S.O. Awosoga, the institution’s Acting Director of Health Services, spoke on Health viewpoint for enhancing students’ academic excellence during which he explained how good health could enhance academic excellence. He listed physical and emotional abuse, chronic illness, unwanted pregnancies and abortions as factors that could affect students’ health status, thereby hindering their efforts to achieve excellence.

    Awosoga advised the students to take their careers services and shun vices which can truncate their academic pursuits. He said: “The university management has shown care to all students by guiding, monitoring and always advising them on how to achieve their dreams. Students must shun all vices and take your studies seriously.”

    The event was attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Samson Ayanlaja; Chairman of Governing Council, Prof Peter Okebukola, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr B.A. Onyekwere, Parents’ Forum members and students.