CONVOCATION: 282 bag First Class as UNIBEN graduates 17,517 in two years

The University of Benin (UNIBEN) is set to produce 282 First Class students from the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 Academic Sessions, the institution's Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami has disclosed. 

Prof. Salami made the disclosure on Monday at a press briefing in Benin as prelude to the University's 46th and 47th combined Convocation, 51st Founders’ Day and Golden Jubilee Awards Ceremonies. 

She said while 125 graduands bagged First Class in the 2018/2019 session, 157 made First Class in the 2019/2020 academic session adding that a total of 8,996 and 8,521 graduated from the two sessions respectively.

According to the Vice Chancellor, for both sessions under the higher degree, 361 graduated with Doctorate Degree, 2,511 Masters Degree and 556 with Postgraduate Diplomas.

The UNIBEN VC said that the two sessions had to be compressed in order to ensure that the students graduated as planned and that no student lost any year.

Salami expressed satisfaction that the university ran the two sessions in a succession relatively without any hitches, despite the COVID-19 lockdown and ASUU strike that grounded academic activities in 2020.

She disclosed that no fewer than 500 students who have overstayed in the university were granted ‘amnesty’ by the school’s Senate to enable them graduate from the institution.

“The cases of more than 500 students who have overstayed in the university were looked into by the Senate and granted ‘amnesty’ to graduate from the system,” she said. 

Prof. Salami added the University under her watch has also introduced a method whereby certificates of graduands are available for collection right from the day of the convocation.

On what she referred to as disequilibrium between the teaching and non-teaching staff, Salami said her administration was able to convert over 250 qualified staff from non-teaching to teaching staff.

“The administration did not stop there. As of today, over 200 adjunct lecturers have also been appointed to bridge the gap in teaching position,” the UNIBEN VC added. 

She said the University's Senate recently approved students-copy transcripts as part of innovations under her administration, adding that “application is now on-line”, making the process much more easier. 

The VC disclosed that UNIBEN would be conferring Honorary Doctorate Degree on Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma; Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Dr. Natalia Kanem; Mr. Oluwakemi Pinheiro, SAN; Dr. Thomas Illube, while a former Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Osayuki Oshodin, would be unveiled as Professor emeritus.

As part of activities marking the convocation ceremonies, UNIBEN would on November 22 install Prof. James Ayatse, the Tor Tiv as the new Chancellor of the university, while November 27 will be the climax of the activities with the inauguration of some recently completed projects in the university.