The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), Prof. Abdul Rasheed Na’allah, has reacted to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), saying the Federal Government is making a grave mistake by neglecting the needs of tertiary institutions in the country.
Na’allah who spoke at the pre-convocation briefing on Monday in Abuja said a total of 8769 would be graduating out of which 267 are PhD degrees, 2372 Master degrees and 214 Post Graduate Diplomas (PGD).
The graduates would be awarded first and higher degrees at the institution’s 25th and 26th combined convocation ceremony scheduled to hold this weekend.
He disclosed that 23 bagged first-class in the 25th convocation set, 1052 second class upper, 3061 will graduate second class lower, while 324 will graduate with third class.
The VC added, “Set ’26 has 31 first class, 973 second class upper, 2920 second class lower and 257 third class.”
Na’allah further said his administration was poised to make a difference in the institution by carrying out various programmes aimed at developing the students, the varsity and the nation in general.
Speaking further on the ASUU strike, the Vice-Chancellor buttressed his position with the Chinese and Japanese governments, saying they rose to become top economies of the world owing to sustained investments in tertiary education. He insisted Nigeria can borrow a leaf from them by boosting learning infrastructures.
“Government is making a big mistake for not supporting the University education in Nigeria, no nation that wants to stand strong will neglect its university system, look at China, everyday Japan is becoming a big economy, simply because of effective management of its resources, we must contribute our own quota to the development of our own universities,” he stated.
Recall that beyond controversies surrounding the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll System, another major factor that allegedly necessitated the ASUU strike is the revitalization funds, but reacting to this, Na’allah confirmed that the government has been remitting to his university faithfully.
“Yes on the revitalization funds we have been benefiting, we have received the first tranche of N390million which we used to provide facilities for lecturers and other infrastructural needs within the campus. We have also gotten the second tranche of N540million, we have got billions from TETFUND, grants from JICA for furnishing our laboratories among others.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the goal of the university is to ensure it competes globally with other institutions.
He said being the premier university in the nation’s capital, the University of Abuja is poised to produce quality graduates that can become employers of labour upon graduation rather than going cap in hand searching for white-collar jobs.
“We have introduced some foreign languages for global citizenship in order to meet with the new world order, we are constructing a new Senate building.
“We are building smart classrooms, constructing new roads, we have also introduced entrepreneurship to train students as successful graduates,” he said.
However, he, maintained that the university is aimed at competing globally with other institutions to aquire a world-class status while stressing that the institution also has a zero-tolerance policy towards indiscipline whether from students or staff of the University.
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