From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Vice Chancellor, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM), Prof Isaac Itodo, said the university would on Saturday, graduate a total of 22,027 students saying 200 graduated with first class.
Prof Itodo disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing being part of activities for the 26th – 31st combined Convocation ceremonies.
He said out of the 22,027 students, 15,402 were undergraduates, 4,504 were post graduates, 446 were PhD while 2,121 of them were sandwich students.
The Vice Chancellor, who have completed two years in office, appreciated staff and students for the cooperation he has enjoyed in discharging his duties expressing his determination to build on the achievements of his predecessors in office.
He said the institution has attained great achievements in her 44 years of existence, pointing out that academics from the school have won research laurels from competitive international academic leagues, while its alumni have established themselves in critical and strategic national and international endeavors such as in the academia,oil and gas the public bureaucracy, military and international agencies.
He enthused that three current ministers of the federal Republic of Nigeria including Prof Nentawe Goshwe Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Prof Joseph Utsev of Water Resources and Sanitation and Send. Sabi Abdullahi Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security were all students of the institution. He expressed gratitude to the students of the university for putting the school in the research space of the world by attracting research grants among other benefits.
Speaking on infrastructural development under his tenure, Itodo said “for the first time, the university attract the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TetFund) hi hi impact intervention of N2 billion as special agricultural intervention in 2023 and another N4 billion in 2024.”
He commended the Executive Secretary TertFund, Arc Sonny Echono explaining that with the fund, the school have completed some projects including the asphalting of the lane of the dual carriage road from the university gate to the University Health Services (UHS), construction and furnishing of a building for the department of Agriculture and Biosystem Engineering water reticulation at the North core, maintenance and external works of the university clinic among others while other projects are ongoing.
He lamented that the university, which is about 8,000 hectares of land with a perimeter of 43km is currently facing security challenges of kidnapping of students, invasion by herdsmen and daily pilferage of university properties particularly armoured cables.
The VC who noted that most of the challenges can be eliminated with a perimeter fence around the university said the management is actively engaging the Federal Government to fence the Campus particularly after the last unfortunate incident of kidnapping of three females students of the university.
He also said the school is putting in place several security measures to protect lives and properties in the school including an ongoing building of the Security department, deployment of e-security, Campus wife patrol adding that that as security audit would soon be undertaken before the resumption of academic activities.
While promising openness in running the university and frugal management of tangible resources, Itodo said the university would continue to engage her host community for a cordial relationship and peaceful coexistence while also looking forward to settling the boundary issues with them.