By Emeka Nwokocha
ABRAKA/Nigeria: Vice Chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU), Professor Andy Egwunyenga, on Tuesday, held a press conference as part of the activities to mark the university’s 16th convocation ceremony.
In his address, Prof. Egwunyenga scored his administration high in upscaling infrastructural and academic development in the university spanning over four years of his tenure.
He stated, “At the inception of my administration, I made a pledge to lead, inspire, advance and transform the institution to emerge as one of the best state universities in Nigeria and that goal has been creditably achieved.”
The renowned Professor of Parasitology, praised the Delta State government’s education funding policy, saying it provided him the leverage to achieve a great milestone in infrastructural and academic development of DELSU at fast pace.
He reeled out his achievements, saying, “We have provided high quality teaching to our dear students. We have focused on improving the morale of staff by creating harmony, addressing genuine cases of injustice and building a motivated workforce.
“We have expanded the infrastructure for teaching and learning and created new academic programmes, including, Dentistry, Biotechnology, Medical Laboratory Science, Entrepreneurship, Office and Technology Management; the Delta State University Business School and about to be inaugurated the Open and Distance Learning Programme of this University.”
He continued: “The population of students in the university is about double now compared to what it was when I took over on 1st December 2019.”
He further stated, “Our ageing facilities have been rehabilitated. There is great harmony, cohesion, understanding and peace among staff and students. We have built new Faculties of Management Science and Arts,” adding that, “international visibility of the university has been enhanced and we are proudly in the top 10 percent of universities in Nigeria.”
Prof. Egwunyenga, further disclosed that DELSU was ranked in the 61-70th bracket of Universities in Sub-Saharan Africa by the Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking of 2023,” stating that in “the recently released 2024 World Ranking by the THE, Delta State University Abraka is among the four State Universities listed in the Reporter Status, which is a pointer to being fully ‘rank-able’ in the next edition.”
Prof. Egwunyenga further disclosed that DELSU was ranked in the 61-70th bracket of Universities in Sub-Saharan Africa by the Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking of 2023,” stating that in “the recently released 2024 World Ranking by the THE, Delta State University Abraka is among the four State Universities listed in the Reporter Status, which is a pointer to being fully rank-able in the next edition.”
He also noted that, “In the highly prestigious SciVaI ranking of Universities in Nigeria based on total number of articles in Scopus between 2020 and 2023, DELSU was ranked 22nd among the universities in Nigeria, and also ranked 3rd among all State Universities, and finally ranked 1st among State Universities in the South-South and South–East geopolitical zones.”
He said, “These achievements are indeed products of the unflinching commitment from all stakeholders in DELSU fostered by the impactful and prevailing motivating leadership style of my administration.”
He added, “The institution has sustained uninterrupted academic programmes in the last five years and maintains excellent relationship with the community and the state government.
He stated, “As a University, we remain true to our mandate of quality teaching, research, enterprise and community service.”
At the International sphere, the VC said, “Delta State University has continued to foster international collaboration and partnerships with scientists and institutions all over the world.”
He added, “DELSU has hosted international conferences on Artificial Intelligence (Al), Gender Development, Science and technology, in collaboration with other professional learned societies.”
He said, “We have pursued innovation through the use of information and communication Technology (ICT) and other digital tools to remain competitive as a 21st century university.”
The VC stated, “The second feature of the 16th convocation is to give honour to distinguished Nigerians who have served this university and humanity with distinction over the years. The personalities include Professor Sam Ejite Oyovbaire who will be awarded Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa); and Professor Chukwuemeka Peter Aloamaka will be honoured with Emeritus Professor of the University.”
The VC said, “In the final months of my administration, we are at the stage of laying the foundation for the sustenance of the innovation, giant strides and enviable achievements of the university initiated over five years ago.”
He mentioned the projects to be commissioned during the convocation to include connection of Delta State University to the 33KV line to ensure 24-hour power supply to the university; Faculty of Science Extension to include more research laboratories, conference rooms, lecture halls; Ultra-Modern microbiology and Biotechnology laboratories; and lecture halls at the Faculty of Clinical Sciences located at Warri General Hospital to expand the carrying capacity of the university for the training of medical doctors.
The VC expressed joy that through his administration’s efforts, the admission quota of Bachelor of Nursing programme has been increased from 70 to 120, including that of Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) which has been increased from 50 to 240 respectively.
He reiterated that DELSU would in June, 2024 commence an e-learning Nursing Science programme under the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Programme.
He stated that the e-learning innovation would avail hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who could not seek full-time scholarship in the university an opportunity to study Nursing through e-learning, stating that the programme would be advertised within next one month.
