From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
A total of 27 graduating students from Godfrey Okoye University (GOUNI), Enugu State, will receive first-class honours at the institution’s 12th convocation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Christian Anieke, while addressing a press conference in Enugu after a 22km marathon race organised as part of the event’s activities, disclosed that 546 students would be graduating from the university on that day.
He added that, out of this total, 27 graduates would receive first-class honours, marking the highest number of first-class degrees in the university’s history.
Prof. Anieke highlighted several achievements since the last convocation, including the approval of the nursing school by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, bringing the total number of programmes to 83, comprising 40 undergraduate and 43 postgraduate programmes.
He also announced that the university had completed an oxygen plant to supply oxygen to hospitals in the state and built a DNA learning centre, the first of its kind in Africa.
“Five hundred and forty-six students are set to leave the university, and out of that number, 27 students have achieved first-class honours. This is the highest number of first-class degrees we have awarded in an academic year,” Prof. Anieke stated.
“The College of Medicine has also been accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for the MBBS examinations. With our pioneer students now in their third year, they are set to take their second MBBS exams by March next year. Our admission quota for medicine has been raised to 75, making us the first university to conduct two MBBS examinations in the second year,” he added.
Commending the athletes who participated in the 22km marathon, Prof. Anieke pledged to invest in youth talent, adding that everyone who completed the race was a winner.
He said that Godfrey Okoye University aims to become a sports hub once its stadium is completed, with plans to introduce other sports activities at an international standard.
The winners in both the female and male categories received Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) each, while the first runners-up received Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000), and the second runners-up received One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) in both categories.