Rivers Gov. Applauds IAUE Management for Sustaining Vision of Founders

By Tunde Uchegbuo

Rivers State governor, His Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, has applauded the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education for sustaining the vision of the institution’s founding fathers as the primary source of training and recruitment of skilled and qualified educators.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Her Excellency, Professor Ngozi Odu, gave the commendation at the 42nd convocation ceremony of the university last Saturday, where 4,653 graduands received first degrees and 897 graduated at the postgraduate level.

He commended the university for exponential growth in academics and the expanded opportunities created for the youth to access tertiary education and training and reiterated the state government’s financial obligation to the institution.

The governor said the deliberate focus on education and human capital development are to ensure quality and affordable education at all levels regardless of one’s socioeconomic background to empower every citizen of the state with the right education and training to enable them contribute to building a vibrant state.

To that end, his government is determined to stimulate economic growth and create jobs to empower the youth for economic self-reliance.

The state chief executive reminded the graduands that although degrees and certificates were evidence of educational qualification, but emphasised that what mattered more were knowledge, skills and character, which could be readily deployed for the service of society.

The governor was optimistic that the graduands had been appropriately equipped by the university and urged them to apply the skills and training acquired to set realistic goals in the face of daunting bad economy where even the rich and middle class are struggling to survive.

Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Governing Council of the university, Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka, while applauding the governor for the renewed focus on the education sector and the people-oriented projects his administration is embarking on, expressed optimism that he would address infrastructural deficits and poor funding to the institution to change its narrative for better.

He attributed the increase in admissions seekers at the institution to the administration’s commitment to creating the enabling environment that allows the students achieve their potential, full accreditation of its 47 undergraduate and 28 postgraduate programmes, resource verification for seven new undergraduate courses, among others.

Chief Amiesimaka, who expressed gratitude to the governor for their appointment as members of the 12th Governing Council of the university, disclosed that council was working on formulating policies that would set the university on the path of excellence.

The former Rivers Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice assured that the mandate to employ more relevant teaching and non-teaching staff would be in strict compliance without preferential treatment and bias, as he disclosed that the exercise would commence soon.

The Pro-Chancellor felicitated with all the graduands and charged them to use the skills and training gained as a launch pad for greater accomplishments in a world of boundless opportunities and possibilities while congratulating parents, guardians and sponsors for their roles in making their children and wards actualise their dreams.

Meanwhile, the management of the university revealed that it was set to go beyond academic accomplishments to embracing cherished traditions and intellectual values that distinguish great universities.

The acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Okechuku Onuchuku, revealed this at the event where he disclosed that the theme of the ceremony, “Deepening University Culture”, was deliberately chosen to demonstrate the institution’s readiness to prove its advancement in academics and administration and announced that management would continue to push towards making the institution a first choice destination for quality tertiary education in the country.

To achieve that, the acting Vice-Chancellor appealed to the state government for provision of critical infrastructure to boost academic, administrative, and recreational activities at the university.

These include classrooms and staff accommodation, road network, power infrastructure to boost electricity supply at the Ndele campus, a befitting senate building, vice-chancellor’s lodge, purpose-built convocation arena, among others.

Prof. Onuchuku, while admitting that few errant students and staff had done things tended to put the institution in disrepute, assured zero tolerance for all forms of activities that would undermine the credibility of the university and congratulated the graduands and their parents.