Edo Varsity: Propagating Quality Education for Devt

February 14 marked the fifth matriculation ceremony of Edo University, Iyamho. Adibe Emenyonu who was at the event, captured the uniqueness of the young ivory tower that makes it an envy of all

“I learnt about this university and its uniqueness through friends and associates who told me that Edo University, Iyamho is the Harvard, Cambridge and IMT of our time. I was not in doubt of this claim because I know that great things are usually found in the heart, as Heart Beat of the Nation.

“I see Edo State redefining education in Nigeria. It is with this sense that I accept the offer from Governor Godwin Obaseki to be the first Chancellor of this great institution of higher learning.

“Nigeria has been yearning for this kind of education since independence, but no one was ready to face the challenge and come up with a world- class university of this status. I must commend the founding fathers of the university for their foresight in establishing a university that competes favourably with Ivy League universities like Cambridge and Harvard. I must say that EUI’s facilities are among the best in the world.”

These were the words of the Chairman of Caverton Offshore Support Group, Dr. Aderemi Makanjuola when on November 2, 2019, he was installed as the first Chancellor of the institution and conferred with a doctorate degree in Business Administration.

Corroborating the newly appointed chancellor, his ally, Mr. Kehinde Smith said: “I am impressed with the university. The infrastructure is excellent for an out-of-town university. I would recommend Nigerians to send their children there.”

Without doubt, Edo University, Iyamho has become a game changer in university education in Nigeria with the sole aim of preparing students for leadership in a dynamic world. The desire of the state governemnt to provide quality education is demonstrated in the world class facilities in the university.

The institution was established on March 23, 2016 having been approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as Nigeria’s 41st state university.
Since its establishment, it has excelled in leaps and bounds as a world class institution which has remained the dream of the founders of the university by making it a place of envy in terms of character and learning.

To achieve this, the management, under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Emmanuel Aluyor, a Professor of Engineering, began to put in place innovations to make it different from others.
Those innovations include the use of CANVAS LMS/AIS and smart/electronic boards for effective teaching and learning. By doing so, the university became the first in West Africa to acquire the CANVAS Learning Management System (LMS) and now the Academic Information System (AIS) to deliver the highest possible quality education available anywhere in the world to the students.

The management did not stop at just the acquisition of these latest learning gadgets, it also provides regular training for both teaching and non-teaching staff to enable them make effective use of the modern facilities available to them in the university. “Essentially, the training, which is a continuous exercise, is to ensure that we can get the maximum benefits from these facilities that we have acquired for use in the university.
“We already have a requirement that all our academic staff should be computer literate, but being computer literate is not enough to be able to use a smart board and other modern teaching and learning tools, hence, the training.

“We do these trainings from time to time to maximize the use of these facilities and get the benefits for the students.”
Aluyor noted that the quest for members of staff to go beyond their comfort zone and to enable them contribute meaningfully to the development of the university was the driving force behind the training and acquisition of the latest teaching and learning aids.

He expressed the institution’s commitment to providing the necessary and best legacies for staff, students and the university at large as a world class university in modern day teaching and learning environment. Apart from providing a good learning and teaching atmosphere, the university declared zero tolerance for gangsterism, cultism and other social vices as doing so will attract expulsion.

These virtues perhaps remained the reasons why parents have made the institution the first choice for their children/wards.
Mustapher Oloku, whose nephew is among the 503 matriculating students said: “Unlike other institutions of higher learning where cultism discouraged parents, in the school, there is nothing like that as anyone caught will be expelled.”

Besides, he said strike which had always prolonged the graduation period of students in other universities, has no place in Iyamho as four years is four years.
To Uwaji Okperi, who matriculated to study engineering, the learning environment made him choose the university as his first choice. He said before then he made a trip to the place to ascertain for himself what he saw in the internet before making it his choice while filling his JAMB form.

Okperi also attested that the university has standard facilities for practical and theoretical learning for each department, saying that he will recommend the school to his friends that are seeking admission into tertiary institutions. “There are no illegal activities here like cultism, drug abuse because the school authorities will not condone any of such,” he stated.

For emphasis, the management during the ceremony warned the matriculating students for 2019/2020 academic session not to engage in any form of gangsterism or immoral behaviours as such would attract expulsion.
The vice-chancellor while addressing the new students, added that smoking, possession of hard drugs, cultism and other acts of indiscipline would not be condoned, advising them to make the best use of the facilities provided to enhance their learning in the university, which remains the primary purpose of their coming to the school.
He said the university prides itself to be the model for the 21st century university in Nigeria with its world class technologically enhanced teaching and learning facilities.

“One of such technologically enhanced teaching and learning tools in the university is the CANVAS: Learning Management System (LMS) and our robust Academic Information System (AIS).
“In addition to the advanced technologically enhanced teaching, the university has adopted the competence based curriculum in medicine, student-centred learning model in teaching all our courses in the university and recently, the Outcome Based Education (OBE) learning system for the Faculty of Engineering.

“Some other of our enhanced teaching and learning tools include: power laboratories for Physiology students; fully equipped Engineering workshop for teaching multi-scale manufacturing; skills laboratories with high and low fidelity manikins for Nursing and Medical students; a world class Mass Communication studio; legal clinic for Law students; smart boards, temperature controlled classrooms with multimedia projectors, among others.”
Wishing the matriculating students a memorable sojourn throughout the period of their studies, the university boss thanked parents for honouring the invitation extended to them, adding that the university has also put in place a CANVAS Learning Management System to enable them partner the management of the insitution in training their children to be leaders of tomorrow.

He explained that the aim of putting in place such system is to enable parents/guardians anywhere they are to monitor the activities and performance of their children/wards in terms of classroom attendance, test, assignment and examination results.
Highlights of the ceremony was the oath taking by the students and the symbolic signing of the matriculation oath which admits them as full students of the university.