By Tahir Mohammed Dutse
President Bola Tinubu has urge Universities as citadel’s of learning to undertake cutting edge research that is responsive to the changing demands of our modern day world, thereby encouraging impactful education that will bring about sustainable development.
Speaking through his representative the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof Kabiru Bala, FNIOB, FSAN who stood in for.him as a Visitor to the Federal University Dutse 6 and 7 Combined convocation at the varsity’s convocation ground on last Saturday.
According to Mr. President, Our universities should define their roles and carve out a niche for themselves by designing programmes that will assist government in poverty reduction, creating employment opportunities, health promotion application for new technologies in the advancement of knowledge and equality, protecting the environment, promoting sustainable human development, as well as sustaining democracy and good governance without missing out on the quest towards the attainment of the renewed hope agenda of this administration.
Mr.. President Bola Tinubu noted that Universities are strengthened and reinvigorated for the fulfilment of their mandates is the delisting of tertiary institutions from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) Platform, increased allocations to the education sector in its appropriation for the year 2024, operationalization of the Students Loan Scheme in this year 2024, among others. All of these are expected to reposition the tertiary institutions for greater performance and productivity.
Government is mindful of the special roles of universities in the upliftment of the socio-economic life of our country. Universities, as bastions of knowledge acquisition, scientific and technological discoveries and character formation, have the potential and responsibility of training the necessary human capital to drive the various development initiatives of government. Let me assure you that this administration will therefore be alive to its responsibility towards the education sector; we shall continue to give the necessary support to enable our universities achieve the objectives for which they were established, in line with our Renewed Hope Agenda.
On the graduating student’s, President Tinubu rejoice with the graduating students who have worked tirelessly to attain this feat and congratulate the parents for their relentless sacrifices in seeing their children/wards through the difficult but glorious years. May I assure you that your labour will not be in vain.
The Vice Chancellor, Federal University Dutse Professor Abdulkarim Sabo Muhammad said, a total number of 2,872 graduated at the combined convocation from various field of studies.
He explained that, out of the total number, 74 students got first-class, 836 second class upper, 1510 second class lower and 452 students graduated with third class.
Professor Abdulkarim Sabo maintained that, the graduands emerged from faculties of Agriculture, Art and Social sciences, Computer Science, and the faculty of sciences. Others are two Ph.D, 47 M.Sc, 376 Masters and 189 post graduate diploma graduands.
He identified some of his achievement in the University as completion of N1.2 billion internet broadband by the ministry of communication and digital economy, among many other achievement in the sector.