Tansian Varsity Graduates 1,387, HonoursUmeh, Ukachukwu, Orjiako

Charles Onyekamuo in Awka

The Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State has produced a new crop of 1,387 graduates comprising four sets of 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 academic sessions.

They are made up of 257 graduands from the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences and 1,130 from the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences of the university.

Speaking during the institution’s second convocation ceremony at the Umunya Campus, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof ChimaIwuchukwu, said five of the graduates bagged first class; 370 made second class upper division; 1,007 were in the second class lower division category; while five had third class.

He said the graduands represent the school’s product of high level manpower which it can attest to as its contribution to nation building through education.

Iwuchukwu said the management applied a new energy and vigour and injected into the fabrics of the university a new focus and direction for the achievement of highly competitive standards.

He said the new direction would bring about integrity, stability and fame, confidence and the expansion of newer horizons for Tansian University among the comity of world universities.

He stressed that part of the dividends of the new direction is that the admission process has become more transparent and clearly spelt out for fresh students and direct entry candidates, adding that the immediate accreditation carried out by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in October, 2015 saw the university coming out in flying colours with the eight programmes featured having full accreditation in seven and an interim status in one.

The founder and chancellor of the university, Prof. John Bosco Akam, thanked God for all He made possible. He said the university has within nine years begun manifesting the features of a seed planted in good soil, yielding bountifully from year to year to show how committed it has remained to the course of liberating mankind from the shackles of ignorance.

Three distinguished Nigerians, Chief Victor Umeh, Nicholas Ukachukwu and Dr. Bryant Orjiako were awarded honourary doctoral degrees for their exemplary contributions to national development. While Umeh, an Estate Surveyor and Politician was awarded PhD (Honoris Causa) in Political Science, Ukachukwu, a businessman, industrialist and politician bagged a similar award in Business Administration.

Orjiako, a medical doctor and oil and gas expert also received a doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Management.
While conferring the award on them, Iwuchukwu said even though they had received their scholarship distinction from elsewhere, their roles, patterns and activities whereby they depicted the university’s focus and aspirations in some of its programmes endeared them to the institution.

“Your shining examples as instances for societal development provide the reason for honouring you.”

Responding, Umeh expressed delight at receiving honourary degree in a field as strange as politics. He said he accepted the award because he knows that the chancellor is a man who attaches value on excellence, while thanking the founder for establishing a university where young Nigerians are trained in character and learning.