240 bag first class as FUTA graduates 2,747

No fewer than 240 students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, graduated from the institution with first-class honours from various departments of the university.

The institution said the 240 first-class graduates were out of 2,747 students who would be awarded first degrees in the forthcoming convocation ceremony of the federal government-owned institution.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, disclosed this on Friday, on the campus of the institution, while speaking with journalists on the activities lined up for the 36th convocation of the university.

Giving the breakdown of the classes of graduating students, the don said, “A total of 2,747 students will graduate, while 240 finished with first-class, 1479 students graduated with second-class (upper division), 912 and 116 students graduated with second-class ( lower division ) and third-class, respectively. ”
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‎She also revealed that, apart from the 2,747 outgoing undergraduate students that will be awarded bachelor’s degrees, 867 will be awarded postgraduate degrees, with a breakdown of 627 for MTECH, 86 for PGD and 154 for PhD.
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Oladiji explained that the outstanding performance of the first-class graduates was a result of consistent effort, discipline, and the conducive learning environment provided by the university.
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‎“The results we are celebrating today show that FUTA continues to maintain its standard as one of Nigeria’s foremost universities of technology,” the don boasted.

Oladiji added that, despite various challenges the institution is facing, it has continued to maintain its leadership among the universities of technology across the country in the areas of research and academic development.

She said, “FUTA is firming up its reputation as a leading research-intensive institution and a foremost citadel of excellence in technological education tailored to meet emerging challenges of its society and the global arena. This is more so in the area of climate and space science, agriculture, engineering and computing and digital expertise.

“In FUTA, members of faculties and students are becoming increasingly relevant in the scheme of things in the global academic arena with participation and involvement in cutting-edge research and product development.”

She, however, decried the low disposition and orientation of some students to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, stating that no fewer than 3,000 students had benefited from the scheme. She noted that the government was willing to disburse the funds to the beneficiaries, but that there was a low disposition to it by the students.

“The level of awareness by the students is quite low. We are trying to get them to be aware of it. And then the disposition, also, a lot of people think, why should they go to school on credit?

“So many people do not want to take the loan. So if the number is not huge, it’s not necessary because the government is failing. It is because many people are not applying. As we speak, we have over 3,000 students benefiting from the NELFUND scheme. So, they have opened the portal again, and we are encouraging students to apply.

“The level of awareness and the willingness to take on the loan is what I think has kept this number like this, not because the government is not committed to paying the students,” she said.

The Punch reports that the Federal Government had commenced disbursement of interest-free loans known as the Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund.

The Minister for Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who kicked off the exercise at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, said the gesture was part of the Renewed Hope Initiatives of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Presenting the cheques to some of the beneficiaries in FUTA, Dr Alausa, who was on the campus in the company of the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, disclosed that no fewer than 30,000 academic and non-academic staff of tertiary institutions had applied for the loans, but 9,000 applications had so far been approved