NELFUND Boosts Excellence as FUNAAB Produces 104 First-Class Graduates

The Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof Olusola Kehinde, on Wednesday said that a total of 4,141 students will be graduating during its 33rd convocation scheduled for Saturday, out of which 104 graduates bagged first-class.

Kehinde said that the Federal Government has also ordered the reintroduction of four Management Sciences degree programmes, including Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, and Economics, which were delisted by the National Universities Commission during the 2017/2018 academic session.

The VC also said that Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, Forestry Resource Management, Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Climate Science and Agricultural Meteorology, and Cooperative Studies and Development Studies have been introduced.

With the addition of these six programmes, the VC added that the university now runs a total of 44 academic programmes, while the number of departments in the university has now increased to 55.

The Professor of Plant Science also revealed that close to 5,000 students of the university had benefited from the Nigerian Loan Education Fund to the tune of N840m, saying that the Federal Government’s financial assistance through the student loan has been of tremendous assistance to the students.

The Vice-Chancellor disclosed this on Wednesday during a briefing at the university’s Senate building on its 33rd convocation scheduled for Saturday.

Giving a breakdown of the graduands, Kehinde said that “For the 33rd convocation of the university, a total of 4,141 will receive Bachelor’s Degrees in various disciplines.

“Out of these, a total of 104 graduated with First Class Honours Degree, 1,771 graduands are in the Second-Class Upper Division, 1,896 earned Second-Class Lower Division, while 285 had Third Class Degrees and only two graduated with Pass. The remaining 41 graduands earned the Veterinary Medicine Degree, which is not classified.”

For Higher Degrees, the VC said that the university is graduating a total of 49 Postgraduate Diplomas, 164 Master’s Degrees, and 89 Ph.Ds in various fields.

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The VC also announced Osiama Chinyere from the Food and Nutrition Department, with a CGPA of 4.85, as the overall best graduating student.

He explained that these accomplished individuals are being released into the world as a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs, skilled professionals, visionary leaders and talented changemakers.

The VC described the 33rd convocation as a vibrant celebration that unites people from diverse backgrounds to honour institutional and individual achievements, marking a triumph over challenges, the realisation of dreams, the celebration of resilience, and the beginning of new horizons

Speaking on the impact of NELFUND on the institution’s students, Prof Kehinde, who hailed President Bola Tinubu for the initiative’s establishment, maintained that the students who have benefited are close to 5000.

The VC said that “NELFUND is a good initiative, it has provided financial support for our students and about 5000 of them have benefited to the tune of about N840m. We sincerely appreciate President Tinubu for this very helpful initiative.”

He also said that the long-anticipated World Bank-assisted 3MW Hybrid Solar Power Project of the university has reached a significant milestone, delivering uninterrupted electricity to all the institution’s facilities, during the day and about half of the campus at night.

Kehinde said that with this hybrid solar-powered light system, FUNAAB has joined the ranks of Nigerian universities leveraging renewable energy to enhance academic and residential experiences

Speaking about the infrastructural development at the university, the Vice Chancellor listed the College of Physical Sciences, 240-Capacity Computer Laboratory, Animal Demonstration Laboratory, Veterinary Anatomy Laboratory (Phase I), and Residential Quarters for Principal Officers as some of the projects slated for inauguration during the convocation.