Niger Delta
Three UNICAL First Class Graduates Get Automatic Employment
The University of Calabar on Friday announced the offer of employment to three students who obtained first class degrees in the institution.
They are Theresa Bassey and Asukwo Edem, both of the Anatomy Department of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and Edet Obock of the Department of Crop Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bassey Asuquo, announced at the institution’s 24th and 25th combined convocation that the employment takes effect after their national youth service scheme.
In the convocation which covered 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 academic sessions, Bassey said that 7,671 students graduated in second class category, 2,253 in third class and 296 in the pass division.
A total of 10,775 graduating students, according to him, were awarded degrees, diplomas and certificates and out of the number, “only 367 were medical doctors produced in the two sessions’’.
The VC also announced that the university in January got a grant of 7 million dollars (about N1.05 billion) from the World Bank for research into “World Class Infectious Diseases” under its STEP-B programme.
“Through our directorate of research, the university also obtained grants from the federal government for research in eight areas,” he added.
He said the research areas included molecular studies in infectious diseases treatment and control, drug formulation (Pharmacology) and food composition data-base software.
He commended the federal government for its commitment to the development of higher education through prompt release of funds for projects and intervention efforts through various agencies.
Bassey, however, lamented that the university lacked accommodation for its students and called for private sector participation in the provision of hostels in the institution.