Sokoto varsity seeks approval to recruit staff for new faculties

The Vice-Chancellor of Sokoto State University, Prof. Muhammad Bello Yarima, has appealed to the Sokoto State Government to approve the recruitment of additional academic staff to support the institution’s planned expansion into new faculties and academic programmes.

Yarima made the appeal on Saturday during the combined fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth convocation ceremonies of the university in Sokoto.

He said the institution, established in 2009, had expanded from three pioneer faculties to five and was awaiting approval from the National Universities Commission for 22 additional academic programmes.

According to him, the approval will increase the university’s faculties to between eight and nine.

The university is expanding in terms of admission quota, academic programmes and student population. We are pleading with Your Excellency to allow the university system to expand its staffing position.

“We need more recruitment and more qualified staff to fit into these new programmes,” Yarima said.

He said the proposed programmes include Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Medical Sciences and Nursing, describing them as strategic courses aimed at addressing emerging national manpower needs.

The vice-chancellor also said the university had introduced a monthly public lecture series to promote knowledge sharing and strengthen research.

He added that the institution was working towards establishing a Centre of Excellence for Solid Mineral Research to promote scientific mining and tackle the challenges of illegal mining.

“We are trying to establish a Centre of Excellence for Solid Mineral Research because solid minerals are the next oil in Nigeria. We are already in touch with institutions in India and China to help with equipment and training,” he said.

Yarima said the university had continued to benefit from TETFund interventions in infrastructure, staff development and research, adding that several lecturers had undergone training in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and India.

He commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu for supporting the institution, particularly by funding the combined convocation ceremony and sustaining the state’s policy of automatic employment for first-class graduates.

“The last two weeks, we interviewed four first-class graduates, and they have been absorbed into various faculties. We are grateful for strengthening and maintaining this policy,” he said.

A total of 42 students graduated with first-class honours during the combined convocation.

The university also graduated 779 students from the Faculty of Arts, 347 from Computing, 1,187 from Education, 1,886 from Science and 1,317 from Social Sciences.

In his remarks, Governor Ahmed Aliyu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to education, describing it as the foundation of sustainable development.

He said the government had cleared salary arrears owed visiting and sabbatical lecturers, implemented salary increases for academic staff, renovated staff quarters and constructed a sports complex.

“We are committed, well committed, fully committed, and we remain committed to supporting the university in its quest to become one of the leading institutions of higher learning in Nigeria and beyond,” he said.

Aliyu also praised former governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko for establishing the university, saying the institution had expanded educational opportunities for thousands of students.