Unilorin 36th Convocation: Five Students Bag Distinctions, 180 First Class, Says VC

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Authorities of the University of Ilorin (Unilorin), Kwara State, on Monday disclosed that despite the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, five students of the institution bagged distinctions, while another 180 students made first class during the 2019/2020 academic session.

The vice-chancellor of the institution, Prof. Sulyam Age Abdulkareem, who disclosed this in Ilorin during a press conference to herald the activities planned for the 36th convocation ceremonies of the school also said that about 10,922 students would graduating at the ceremony.

He said: “In the first degree/Diploma category, we have 180 First Class, 2,836 Second Class Upper Division, 4,879 Second Class Lower Division, 1,110 Third Class and 14 Pass.

“We also have 140 MBBS graduands, 46 graduands in Nursing, five graduands with Distinction and 16 with Pass in Optometry, six graduands with Distinction and 49 with Pass in Pharmacy, while we have 37 graduands in Veterinary Medicine.

“Furthermore, a total of 20 graduands are obtaining Diploma from the Institute of Education.

“For emphasis, the total number of higher degrees to be awarded at this occasion is 1,584. This figure comprises 142 Postgraduate Diplomas, 1,142 Masters from various faculties, 113 MBA/MPA/MILR/MGIS/MPH/MHPM and 187 PhDs.”

According to Abdulkareem, “It is gratifying to declare here now that we shall be convoking a total of 10,922 students during the 36th convocation ceremonies we are heralding with this press conference.

“Out of this figure, 9,338 are First Degree/Diplomas graduands, while the remaining 1,584 are graduating with Higher Degrees/Postgraduate Diplomas.

“The 2019/2020 session was also special because we had 2,766 students from our affiliated institutions that completed their programmes and will be awarded Postgraduate Diplomas after going through our rigorous and high standard of academic excellence as well as our stringent quality control mechanisms.

“Another 84 students from institutions affiliated with us are also being awarded Diploma degrees in various disciplines.

“We are today very proud to say that our institution is probably the only public university in Nigeria that did not cancel out a session despite the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19.”

The vice-chancellor therefore added that the school was very proud that it could maintain its unbroken record for stable, undisrupted academic process and calendar because of its collective resolve to make “our university distinct”.