The Vice Chancellor Federal University Dutsen-Ma, Katsina State, Professor Armaya’u Hamisu Bichi, has commended the foresight, support and concern of the management of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in their desire for universities to attain academic excellence, as proven by the recent approval of 23 additional undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the university.
Speaking to our correspondent on phone on the recent approval of additional programmes for the university, the vice chancellor said: “The approval, although was not on a platter of gold because a team of experts visited the university to assess human and material resources on the ground as the first step, but it deserves commendation at least for a thorough assessment exercise and verification to authenticate the exact situation at hand before the final approval was given
“We were thoroughly grilled by the experts and all available facilities on the ground were assessed including ongoing, completed projects and the overall academic performance of the institution as well as our capacity to handle the proposed programmes before approval
“Apart from the over 80 programmes we already have, based on the report of the assessment team, NUC was convinced with our capacity to handle the proposed programmes and approved additional 23 to cover Mass Communication, Law, International Relations, Environment and other critical programmes that will surely improve the academic status of the university in the long run
“Our aim is to position academic performance and research in the university in tandem with global best practice and to compete favorably with advanced institutions the likes of Harvard, Oxford, Cardiff, Cambridge, Pittsburg and other globally respected institutions of higher learning
“With the approval of 23 additional programmes in our kit, we can beat our chest to say we are on the right track to achieving our set aims and objectives as a cradle of knowledge, and with the necessary support at our disposal, we shall achieve the set aims and objectives within a set timeframe as a bond”.
The vice chancellor expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for citing the university at its present location, Dutsin-ma in an effort to bring university education to the doorsteps of rural communities and other neighboring states including neighboring countries like Niger Republic that may be a direct beneficiary as time goes on in the spirit of the ECOWAS treaty .
