By Gami Tadanyigbe
The University of Abuja, FCT, on Tuesday, matriculated no fewer than 5,873 students into various faculties in the institution for the 2022/2023 academic session.
Addressing the matriculating students, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, congratulated them for the successful admission into the institution, while he coutioned them against involvement in acts capable of derailing their future career prospects.
Na’Allah said the university is running several programmes that are intended to mentor the new students to understand their roles in the university and to ensure that they succeed by the time they finish from this university.
According to him, the university counts strongly on the ethics of its students with intolerant to cultism, anti-social behaviour and all manners of rudeness to staff and co-students in the institution.
“I am happy to note that the University of Abuja continues to grow, attracting thousands of applications from candidates who want to be part of the greatness in this University by undergoing various programmes here.
“For the 2022/2023 Academic Session, out of 22,947 candidates who applied to the University, we were able to admit a total of 5,873, cutting across several courses in the University, and from every part of the country.
“You must, therefore, consider yourselves lucky that you made it to this University at this period of our great transformation, for there are yet many of your peers out there who weren’t this fortunate.
“I heartily congratulate you all on this auspicious achievement, and I pray that you will make the best use of this opportunity to prepare yourselves for greater responsibilities and endeavours in the near future.
“My dear matriculating students, the event you are witnessing today is not just a ritual, it is a significant process of admitting you fully into the University system, challenging you to live by its rules and chart a new course in life that will lead to a successful career.
“We are working to ensure that our students become entrepreneurs and owners of companies upon their graduation from this University. We have as part of our GST courses, a mandatory entrepreneurial study which every student is expected to take up to their 400 level,” he said.
However, the Vice-Chancellor charged the students to ensure that they choose a foreign language before they leave the university to avail them the opportunity to travel to any part of the world of their choice.
Besides, he, noted that there are a few challenges, which include inadequate facilities, especially hostel accommodation, adding that measures has been put in place to provide more hostel accommodations in the University.
“Our students also offer various foreign languages including Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, which are compulsory as a way of making them become global citizens, enhancing their potential to compete favourably in their chosen careers.
“We are also strengthening our academic and physical infrastructures and making sure that we create an enabling environment for you, our dear students to enjoy decent and fulfilling life here.
“It is not all about reading, teaching and writing in the University of Abuja, you will also need to keep fit to sharpen your physical and mental capacity. So, our Indoor Sports hall is available as it has just been completed and various competitions are being unfolded by our Directorate of Sports.
“Even this evening, the final match for the inter-faculty competition will be holding at the Sports Arena and I invite you all to come to the field to watch as it promises to be quite entertaining.
“Dear Matriculating students, let me despite the remarkable developments taking place in this University, there are a few challenges, which include inadequate facilities, especially hostel accommodation.
“Our student population keeps growing, even though we have just about 6000 bed spaces. Certainly, this can’t take care of all our students no matter how much we desire that all of them be accommodated on campus,” he said. (NAN)