The vice chancellor of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Prof Isaac Nathaniel Itodo, has explained the massive influx of foreign students to the school, saying they are thronging the institution following the introduction of new academic programmes.
He said under his watch, the university formerly called Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, unbundled the existing programmes, bifurcated some of them, restored the delisted ones, strengthened the sandwich programme and created new but trendy and most sought-after programmes.
Specifically, he said resulting from the impact of CIPESS, three degree programmes were resource verified and approved by National Universities Commission (NUC), which have attracted foreign students from the Gambia.
He identified the programmes as BSc Procurement in the College of Management Science, BSc Social Standard in the College of Agricultural Economics and Extension and BSc Environmental Standard in the College of Physical Sciences.
Itodo disclosed that the administration also convinced and obtained approval from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to restore the delisted programmes in the College of Management Sciences.
“This request was submitted to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for approval.
The NUC visited and undertook a resource verification of these programmes, and have approved enrolment of students into this College beginning from the next academic session.
“The following programmes will commence admission of students in the next academic session: BSc Business Administration, BSc Marketing, BSc Entrepreneurship, BSc Public Administration, BSc Agricultural Marketing and Cooperative, BSc Accounting and BSc Finance,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor further explained that the NUC also undertook a resource verification of programmes in the former College of Agricultural and Science Education, now College of Education, and approved many more programmes, amounting to 20 programmes in that College.
He noted: “Heads have now been appointed for these Departments and students have been admitted into some of them. The College now offers the following programmes: B Ed Biological Education, B Ed Chemistry Education, B Ed Environmental Education, B Ed Integrated Science Education, B Ed Physics Education, B Ed Computer Science Education, B Ed Mathematics Education.”
He listed other courses to include “B Ed Statistics Education, B Ed Agricultural Education, B Ed Business Education, B Ed Entrepreneurship Education, B Ed Home Economics, B Ed Industrial Technical Education, B Ed Adult Education, B Ed Educational Administration and Planning, B Ed English Education, B Ed Guidance and Counseling, B Ed History and Archeology Education, B Ed Library and Information Science and B Ed Pre-Primary Social Studies.
Similarly, he said the College of Engineering is being unbundled into nine programmes, noting that advances in the study of engineering have made the unbundling of traditional engineering courses inevitable.
He continued: “NUC has been invited to resource-verify the proposed new programmes. Consequently, the College of Engineering will be offering the following programmes: B Eng Agricultural & Biosystem Engineering, B Eng. Automotive Engineering, B Eng Computer Engineering, B Eng. Civil Engineering, B Eng Environmental Engineering, B Eng. Electrical/Electronic Engineering 7. B Eng. Mechatronic Engineering, B Eng Mechanical Engineering, and B Eng. Telecommunication Engineering.”
