BOWEN University, Iwo, Osun State, has inaugurated its newly established Institute of Preliminaries and Professional Development Studies located in Akute, Ogun State.
The two-acre facility acquired from Doland International Secondary Schools, Akute, cost the university a whopping sum of N280 million.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Mathews Ojo, who disclosed this at a brief inauguration event on Tuesday, said the money was sourced internationally and from the Baptist Church Convention, the proprietor of the university, for a period of three years.
According to him, the university didn’t believe originally that the money could be raised because there was just no money but the church bailed us out with the initial deposit of N100 million and this softened the instalment payment of the balance.
The outgoing vice-chancellor, however, noted that the institute, which would commence academic activities this August would focus mainly to prepare students for the Joint University Preliminary Examination Board, JUPEP; Cambridge ‘A’ Level; Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME; West African Senior Secondary School Examinations, WASSCE, as well as Accounting Technician Scheme, ATS, and language studies.
According to him, it is frustrating for students to be writing the same exams all over again and that is why the university wants to use the institute to prepare students desiring tertiary education and professional courses very well ahead of sitting for various qualifying exams.
ALSO READ: See list of 13 APC senators who decamped to PDP
He said while the institute would run two sessions-morning and afternoon- daily, there were qualified and experienced teachers on hands to give what he called quality services to students.
Giving a short exhortation at the event, Bowen’s Vice President and Investment, Dr Moses Adebayo, said the establishment of the institute was in tandem with the vision of the founding fathers of Baptist Church convention, which he listed as teaching, preaching and giving.
These three-point agenda, according to him, take a visionary leader in the academic circle to pursue.
He said Bowen University was known to produce total students who he described to be that excellence in academic, character, knowledge and skills and not about money making.
“It is not enough to produce just any graduates but those who will be agents of positive change, who will impact the society meaningfully and who will carry out his or her activities in the fear of God and constituted authorities and that is what we are known for in Bowen,” he said.
and then