The Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, has prepared 8,119 students for graduation at its 13th Convocation Ceremony, later this week.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Shaykh-Luqman Alade Jimoh, at a pre-convocation press conference on the school premises on Tuesday, explained that 7,618 earned first degrees while 501 earned postgraduate degrees.
According to him, of the number, “there are 82 First Class honours, 1,986 Second Class Uppers, 4,195 Second Class Lowers, and 1,355 Third class graduands.
“At the postgraduate level, there are 75 Ph.Ds and 426 Masters graduands,” he added.
He disclosed that there has been significant academic growth since the last ceremony, with the two other campuses, Osi and Ilesha-Baruba, now hosting both staff and students of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences.
“This has facilitated the spread of the institution to other parts of the state with the expected socio-economic benefits to the communities hosting them,” he stated.
He, however, explained that the December 3 press statement by the varsity temporarily withdrawing the students and staff of the two campuses back to the Malete campus was to ensure that both staff and students of the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences participate in the week-long Convocation programme.
He hinted that the varsity’s fourth-year medical students have resumed at the State University Teaching Hospital, while 56 law graduates of the KWASU have been called to the Bar this year.
“These are the first and second sets of law graduates of KWASU. These developments are milestones we have long waited for as KWASU continues to train and produce critical workforce for the different sectors.
“With 81 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, we have maintained our success rate in the accreditation status of programmes,” he stated.
On infrastructure, Prof Jimoh said the school has continued to strive to increase and improve under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which approved a N1 billion Special Intervention project to complete the Library Annex.
“All eleven faculties and other stations of the institution have been equipped with an ultramodern, fully functional smart classroom to boost teaching across time and space,” he noted.
“The Experience Centre donated by the Office of Nigeria’s First Lady and TETFund is almost ready, just as the Central Laboratory donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria has reached advanced stage.
“The Faculty of Law building is also progressing steadily and will at completion, create more classrooms and office spaces.
Through Public-Private Partnership with Rangeman Construction Ltd, the Malete campus now has an additional 150-room/600-bed space hostel, which is already in use by our students.
“This is a huge addition and a great boost to our drive for more on-campus housing for our teeming students. While we strive to increase infrastructure, we are committed to maintaining existing ones because we take exceptional pride in our very beautiful campuses,” he stressed.
According to him, scholars in the school are presently attracting high-impact research grants, especially in the fields of engineering and agriculture, disclosing that Dr. Mustapha Kabiru and Dr. Adesina Lambe Mutalub of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology separately won the National Research Fund NRF grants.
He said that KWASU currently runs four centres for Women Development in Ilorin, Osi, Ilesha-Baruba and Malete, where 125 have so far graduated with skills in ready-to-wear female clothes and men’s caps, “they have also been empowered with industrial sewing machines, android phones for e-marketing, and mentorship to guide the establishment of their businesses,” he said.
