The Vice Chancellor Abia State University, Prof. E. Uche Ikonne has stated that the University is on a steady rise with lots of achievement recorded so far under his watch
Ikonne made this disclosure during an interview he granted in his office on Tuesday.
According to him, the institution has enjoyed uninterrupted academic calendar and has never lost accreditation for any department. Also, some Engineering and Computer Science courses which were hitherto not available for students in the school were added with full accreditation granted by NUC. These he said, have instilled confidence and increase students population, as no parent will send his/her child to where there is no assurance of timely graduation. In same vein, admission quota for medicine & Surgery was increased under his watch.
The professor of Optometry assured that the story must change for both local and international outlook. Accordingly, Students register courses online and lecturers upload results as well. These has made it easier for parents to monitor the academic history of their wards. Missing results, late submission of results etc have been eliminated. Hostels are allocated online. The online platform of the school has eased application and transfer of transcript which was hitherto a herculean task .
On Security, he maintained that crime is on the low. Cultism has been minimized with the collaboration of Military, Police and school security outfit. We opened a good channel between the university and host community but there is opportunity for improvement.
On Staff relationship, the 7th Vice Chancellor said that the management prioritized welfare. We Instilled discipline, reward and penal system as such getting quality service from staff. Students population has grown with more persons subscribing for first choice in our university. What It means is that, we make sure we maintain 4 years for 4 years programmes and our Staff are in line with our vision for the institution. Teachers teach early enough to cover course contents before examination. Our students are doing well in academic competitions, which is an indication in the quality of our delivery.
On infrastructure, the school has accessed high impact fund from Tertiary Education Trust fund (TETFUND), also with the help of Abia State Government ably led by Okezie Victor Ikpeazu PhD, we are also doing a lot to make our environment more conducive for learning.
On training and development of lecturers, The University Don said that Lecturers in ABSU have gotten sponsorship for researches. Topics that will add to the body of knowledge were approved by sponsoring bodies. Many of them are publishing in National and International journals, the school is among the few that federal government gave approval to admit foreign students. We will be doing the 54th inaugural lecture and for the first time, ABSU won National research awards. These he considers indications of healthy academic environment
On his relationship with Alumni, Ikonne stated that Alumni are major stakeholders in any institution. Before now, their impact was not felt because it was difficult to get them together. We built on where my predecessors stopped and we are working harmoniously with them. Alumni UK and other groups have been helping to develop the school through their various efforts. I was invited to United Kingdom and United States to inaugurate their groups. To appreciate them, we conducted a special alumni convocation which we honoured those that were nominated by their association based on their impacts. Alumni Association is constructing Post Graduate hostel which is nearing completion and have donated computer sets, books amongst other things.
On his administration’s challenges; he simply put that Its natural to have challenges , You need the means to achieve your purpose. Manpower, skill, knowledge base of people you are working with and the number needed. All these are tied to funds. The challenges could be in terms of personnel with the right knowledge and the fund to attract the calibre of the people you want. What is needed is the acumen to manage scarce resources of which his administration has recorded milestones.
Ikechukwu Iroha reporting …
