UNILAG produces first set of graduates in Chinese language

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has produced its first set of graduates in the Chinese language.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, disclosed this at a press briefing ahead of the 49th convocation, scheduled for May 8 to 11.

He said four of the Chinese language graduates made a first class grade.

The VC said the university admitted the students to study Chinese in the 2013/2014 sessions, making them the first graduates in any Nigerian university.

He explained that Chinese was introduced as a programme in the Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies (LAAS), after about four years of running the Confucius Institute in the same university.

The University of Lagos and the Beijing Institute of Technology, China jointly established it in 2009.

It still runs diploma programmes in Chinese under UNILAG’s Faculty of Arts, towards promoting Chinese language and culture.

Ogundipe disclosed that of the 12,638 graduating students, 53.9 per cent had first degrees or diploma, while 46.1 per cent had postgraduate degrees.

He said: “The figures demonstrate the university’s drive to enhance postgraduate education in Nigeria through research.”

The vice chancellor further disclosed that 245 of the entire graduating students passed in the first class division, while 1,892 and 2, 959 came out in the second class upper and lower class divisions.

Also, 1,227 had third Class, 93 had pass degrees, while 400 had degrees or diplomas that were not classified.

Ogundipe also announced that Mrs Mutiat Bolanle Ibrahim from the Department of Pharmacognosy emerged with the overall Best Ph.D. Thesis.

Also, three emerged as best graduating students with a Commutative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97.

They are Matthew Jeffrey Jude of the Department of Biochemistry, Roy-Larinde Bosun Abbas of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and Babawale Oludare Emmanuel of the Department of Chemistry.

The VC added: “We shall be conferring a well-deserved honour of Emeritus Professorship on Mabel Modupe Ogunlesi, formerly of the Department of Chemistry and a former Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics & Research), between 2007 and 2012.”