…Announces Full Accreditation of Nine more Programmes, applauds Gov. Bello for all-round Support.

The Vice-Chancellor of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Professor Marietu Ohunene Tenuche, has warned staff and students of the University against “cultism, rape, extortion of money from students using class representatives, indecent dressing, among others”, as such would attract serious sanctions from the University.

The Vice-Chancellor who gave the warning at the 2022 Matriculation Ceremony of the University said the actions are capable of bringing ridicule to the name of the institution, State and parents.

Professor Tenuche explained that Senate decision to abolish the class representatives liaising between students and lecturers was being sustained, as the abundant ICT facilities in the 21st Century should be seamlessly deployed as a medium of communication between lecturers and students.

She therefore urged students to be in the “vanguards for the elimination of these vices on campus by reporting irregular behavior, serving as whistle blowers to expose ills on campus and as volunteers to serve in various Committees set up to root out all acts inimical to installing progress on Campus.”
She informed the students that the matriculation ceremony confers on them rights, responsibilities and privileges, in addition to certain limitations as full members of the academic community; most of which are contained in the students’ handbook.
She urged them to obtain copy and use it as a guide throughout the duration of their studies.

Professor Tenuche who announced that a total of 6,470 students were being matriculated for the 2021/2022 academic session, congratulated the students for the feat, adding that the University under her leadership would continue to carry out its required responsibilities to ensure their moral and academic fulfillment.

Part of such responsibilities, she stressed, was the engagement of the services of a combined team of the army, the police and members of the vigilante force working with the University security operatives who have restored sanity in the system.

The Vice-Chancellor urged the students to go about their activities without fear or hindrance, and accord due respect to all the security operatives, obey all rules and regulations and report any matter that could threaten peace on campus.

On infrastructures, Professor Tenuche said that the University has deployed facilities to propel students to compete globally; including well-stocked University main library equipped with books and resources that are adequate in terms of number and currency and provision of internet services which can be readily access internet services at the new and the old ITRC centers, the University Library, the computer laboratory in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, the Entrepreneurship Study Centre, the NIDATA Centre, the Law Faculty and all other academic areas in the University.

Added to Library development, she stressed is the effort directed at equipping all the laboratories with the support of the Kogi State Government and the TETFund.

Professor Tenuche added that with the support of His Excellency, the Visitor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the University was able to renovate the hostels and that additional renovation works were still on-going.

She also said that the NEEDS Assessment Intervention has graciously provided the University with two additional hostels which are already available for the use of students.

She stressed that her administration would not relent in the efforts to make accommodation and the incidental utilities much better for students.

The Vice-Chancellor, however, decried a situation in which a high percentage of students have opted to stay off-campus, even when there are 1,835 bed spaces for female students and 878 Bed spaces for male students on campus.

She urged parents and guardians to encourage their children and wards to stay in the hostels, as in the long run, the risks associated with off-campus residence far outweigh the cost of their being resident in the hostels.

In a bid to ease movement from hostels to classes, in the academic areas and within the hostels at nights, the Vice-Chancellor explained that the University has provided more solar street lights, and that forty (40) of the new street lights were facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and One Hundred (100) from TETFund Intervention.

Professor Tenuche announced to the gathering that the University has again, emerged resoundingly successful with 100% full accreditation status, in the 9 programmes of the Faculty of Education it presented at the recently concluded National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation exercise; a development that has ensured that all courses on offer in the University are fully accredited.

She expressed gratitude to the Almighty God and appreciated the invaluable contributions of the Visitor, His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr) Yahaya Adoza Bello and the effort of all other stakeholders in recording the feat.

The Vice-Chancellor also stressed that her administration has invested resources and time towards developing sporting facilities on campus as a means of keeping staff and students healthy, provide facilities for relaxation and taking students minds away from criminality.

The facilities, she explained, include lawn tennis courts, squash courts, badminton courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, state of the art pavilion, handball court, etc.

She added that the efforts in this regard have started yielding results as the football team has emerged as one of the hottest contenders for the Nigerian Universities Football League title and the Nigerian University Games (NUGA) Football title, while the Beach Volleyball team won the maiden beach Volleyball game at the recently concluded NUGA hosted by the University of Lagos.

She further informed the gathering that the University administration was committed to the ideals of His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr) Yahaya Bello, Executive Governor of Kogi State and Visitor to the University, whose vision is to bequeath to the University a conducive environment for teaching, learning and research, stressing that they are working assiduously and tirelessly to attaining that vision.

She applauded the Governor for consistently providing “generous and inestimable support through; payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), approval for replacement of academic staff that have left the system, cash backing of promotions, approval for the refund of all (100%) of the University’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), approval of release of funds for overseas treatment of a member of staff whose life was threatened by a deadly illness and guarding the system to ensure adequate security and an unbroken academic calendar, among others.