No fewer than 288 graduating students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State, will bag first-class degrees at the 51st convocation ceremony of the institution billed to be held on Friday, November 24.
The vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Charles Igwe, while addressing a press conference on the activities lined up for the event, disclosed that of the 12,962 graduating students, 11,444 will receive first degrees with 67 receiving diplomas.
He added that 1,451 will receive postgraduate degrees for the 2022/2023 academic session.
A further breakdown of the Bachelor’s degrees, according to the VC, includes 4,853 for 2nd class (upper division); 5,077 for 2nd class (lower division); 653 for the Third class with seven graduates leaving with a pass while 616 were unclassified.
He noted that the unclassified degrees are awarded to graduates of some courses, such as medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine which are not usually classified into first, second, or third class.
“Similarly, a total of 67 diplomas will also be awarded at the convocation. The breakdown is as follows: 7 Distinctions, 35 Credits, 22 Merits, and 3 Passes.
“The Summary of Postgraduate Degrees:
I am pleased to announce that a total of 1,451 postgraduate degrees and diplomas from the University of Nigeria will be awarded at the 51st convocation ceremony. The breakdown of the postgraduate degrees and diplomas is as follows: 479 persons will earn the Doctorate degree, while 884 persons will be awarded the Master’s Degrees. A total of 88 postgraduate diplomas of the university will also be awarded at the convocation”, the VC said.
Igwe used the opportunity to personally debunk the allegations that the institution was involved in admission racketeering.
While stating that the allegation was far from the truth and negated the transparency pillar upon which the University of Nigeria stands, Igwe also added that the university had always conducted its admissions transparently, complying strictly with the Federal Government’s established criteria of 45% merit, 35% catchment and 20% Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS).
Also, at the week-long event, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Architect Sonny S. T. Echono, will deliver the convocation lecture titled, “University Autonomy and the Challenge of Sustainable Education Funding in Nigeria”.