By Leonard Okachie
The Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia, says 163 students will bag First Class honours degree during its 12th convocation ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor of MOUAU, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, who made this known on Thursday, said no fewer than 4,743 students would be conferred with first degrees for the 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 graduating students.
Briefing journalists, Iwe said that the convocation ceremony slated for Saturday, would witness award of certificates, first degrees and prizes as well as conferment of higher degrees.
Giving a breakdown of the class of degrees, he said 163 finished in the First Class Division, 1710 with Second Class Upper, 2114 Second Class Lower, 734 Third Class, nine in the Pass Division and 42 unclassified.
Iwe said that 164 would be awarded Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), 252 with Master’s Degree, 86 and 49 with Postgraduate Diploma.
He said that other activities lined up for the convocation ceremony included interdenominational thanksgiving service and Friday’s Juma’at prayer at the MOUAU Central Mosque.
Iwe disclosed that the Convocation Lecture would be delivered on Friday by Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo and would be chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Barau Jibrin.
The vice-chancellor said that the title of the lecture is “From Ivory Tower to Innovation Hubs: The Renewed Hope Agenda for Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development”.
He boasted that the university had cumulatively made giant strides in academics, human capital development, infrastructure, community service and administration in the last three decades.
However, Iwe decried some of the problems the university was still confronted with, to include inadequate facilities, low funding, non-release of take-off grant from government, bad roads amongst others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MOUAU, formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, was established as a specialised university on Nov. 2, 1992 and began formal activities in May 1993.(NAN)
