By Joseph Atainyang
The management of the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, is graduating 916 scholars from the six faculties in its 2nd/3rd convocation ceremony coming up next Wednesday.
The faculties are those of Agriculture, Arts, Education, Engineering, Natural & Applied Sciences and Social & Management Sciences with a total of 39 departments/programmes.
Addressing a press conference, as a prelude to the success stories of the institution last Thursday, the University's vice-chancellor, Prof. Eno Ibanga said the school was ready to stage the next convocation ceremony, with 241 and 675 graduands for the second and third convocations respectively, so as to showcase the brilliant academic performance of its trainees, 33 of whom are First Class earners, as well as send them out to make huge difference in the labour market, mostly as employers of labour, owing to the specialized training offered therein.
Prof. Ibanga who stated that the event shall afford them the opportunity to reflecting on the academic, as well as administrative gains of the institution within the time being, took time out to list his achievements so far since he resumed duties.
According to him, his barely two years stay in office has yielded dividends of hard work and massive developments and projects across the landscape of the institution most of which, he said, are billed for inauguration on Tuesday, May, 16 to precede the convocation day.
Among the numerous achievements of Eno Ibanga are: the accreditation of additional 11 programmes across existing faculties, establishment of 12 solidly equipped laboratories for the departments in Engineering and Natural & Applied Sciences faculties, provision and procurement of academic research materials for the library, especially to meet the needs of students in the Engineering and Agricultural programmes, as well as the provision of the ICT centre.
Others are the resuscitation of the Oil Palm Mill which, produces six drums of palm oil monthly and 20 baskets of tomato on monthly basis.
In this regard, Prof. Ibanga noted that the campus was poised to producing practical based students who do dot have to seek where to do their industrial attachments because, as he said, the school was practically fully equipped to serve the purpose.
Meanwhile, Eno Ibanga maintained that the faculty of Social and Management Sciences was consciously developed to give the best kind of training to learners.
Accordingly, he explained for instance, that a 30 seater digital English Language Laboratory was provided for the English Department just as the TV, Radio, Print and Photographic Studio had been procured to enhance the teaching and learning in the Mass Communication Department.
Again, the vice-chancellor enthused that the school's Theatre Arts Department boasts of the only purposed built theatre in the Nigerian universities, which he said, was designed, build and exhibited by staff of the university.
He added that the university also has a 158 capacity Senate Chamber facility, and many other laudable infrastructure acquired during his just two years of service, stressing that infrastructure, facilities and staffing were what became promising at making AKSU one of the best universities in the country.
He however used the occasion to commend the Akwa Ibom State government for remaining a reliable source of funding to the institution.
He praised Governor Udom Emmanuel for his focus and humane attitude, especially in salvaging the plights of the last set of staff that was recruited into the school, while also thanking the federal government for its intervention in some areas of developing the academic citadel.
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