Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Prof Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, has called on the Rivers State House of Assembly (RVHA) to amend Section I of the Law establishing the university.
Making his presentation as part of a memorandum he presented during a public hearing on the amendment of the law  establishing  the Rivers State University of Science  and Technology (RSUST), Prof Ndimele noted that the present  name limits  the institution to education related disciplines.
Represented by the Ag. Registrar of the university, Mrs Hope  Keaniabarido  Kue Ikoro, the Vice Chancellor prayed the House to expunge “Education, in the name of the school, and make  it “Ignatius Ajuru University”.
According to the VC, the change of name will put the university in good  stead in academic pursuits,  in line with the recent National  Universities Commission’s  directive to specialised universities.
“The present name portrays the university as an Institution of Education only. This has limited us both in programmes of study  as well as  admission and entrepreneurial  opportunities.
“Above all, the recent policy by the Federal Government that institutions should limit themselves to their area of core mandate, if implemented, will negatively affect our university in the event  where the above   request is refused”, he said.
Although  the Clerk  of the State House  of Assembly, Dr Tony Egobueze, who doubled as anchor man of the public hearing, noted the VC’s submission,  however stated that it was not  the subject matter of the day.
It would be   recalled  that the Federal Government  on January 8, 2017 directed all specialised  Universities of Agriculture, Technology, and Education  to stop running programmes outside their core mandate.
The Federal  Government stressed that a university operating outside its mandate amounts to aberration that should be stopped forthwith.
The government thus directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation  Board (JAMB) to delete all such courses in its portal, and advised candidates wishing  to apply for the 2017 Tertiary  and Matriculation Examination (UTME) to be guided by the directives.