Education, Key To Human Capital Dev – RSG

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, says his administration is committed to human capital development through the development of education at all levels.

Governor Amaechi said this last Saturday during the 25th to 29th Convocation ceremony of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt.

Represented by his deputy, Engr Tele Ikuru, Governor Amaechi stated that his administration’s huge investment in education was anchored on its determination to provide qualitative education to his people, pointing out that it was the only state in the federation that had continued to “appropriate 26 per cent of its annual budget to education.”

Governor Amaechi, who is also the Visitor to the University, regretted that students of the institution had to wait for several years before being graduated, promising that “never again would this happen,” assuring that the process would be set in motion to ensure early release of results and convocation of graduands, lauding the Vice Chancellor and management of the institution for their efforts at scaling facilities and academic content of the university.

He restated that the state government would not rescind the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Professor Barineme Fakae and commended him for his exemplary leadership qualities.

The governor said that the Iwofe Road leading to the school would be completed in record time to assuage the plight of road users and residents of the area.

Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor of the University and former Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Dominic Anucha, thanked Governor Amaechi for his efforts at elevating the institution from a college to university, and providing funds for the university, and urged him to expedite action on the completion of Iwofe Road.

Lamenting the hardship the university community and other road users face on the road, he noted that the university had sustained its academic programmes uninterrupted for four years now.

Speaking, Acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Rosemund Green-Osahogulu, disclosed that a total of 12,110 graduands were awarded Bachelor of Education degrees, out of which 35 had First Class, while 529 graduands were admitted to National Certificate in Education (NCE). She charged the graduands to contribute their best to the task of national transformation, and appealed to the Governor to approve the employment of 400 junior staff.

The Deputy Governor also commissioned the newly reconstructed main gate of the university, funded by the state government.

Meanwhile the authorities of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt have decried the negative impact of multiple campus system in the running of the institution, saying it is very costly for a university to operate.

Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Rosemund Dienye Green-Osahogulu made this remarks last Saturday at the unified 25th  29th Convocation ceremonies held at Rumuolumeni, main campus of the university.

In her speech, Prof Green-Osahogulu said the cost of maintaining the three campuses could not be compared to that used for maintaining one and solicited for assistance of the state government in relocating Faculty of Vocational and Technical (VOTEC) from Ndele as well as moving Faculty of Business Studies from St. John’s Diobu Campus to Rumuolumeni.

“These two campuses can then be dedicated to use respectively as an Agricultural Research Institute and Commercial Farm (Ndele) and a Centre for Business Consultancy Services,” the VC said.

Noting that authorities of IAUE were aware of state government’s plan to move the university to the present location of the State University of Science and Technology, Nkporlu, Oroworukwo, she remarked that since the accreditation searchlight of the National University Commission (NUC) was on IAUE as on other universities, there was compelling need to do the much possible to forestall and obviate risk of losing accreditation of its programmes.

Chris Oluoh