NUC grants full accreditation to five academic programmes at ABSU

Students of Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), have received welcome news as the National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted full accreditation to five core academic programmes.

This accreditation follows the NUC’s evaluation exercise conducted between October and November 2024.

The update was shared by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, during a press briefing on the results of this week’s Executive Council meeting, chaired by Governor Alex Otti.

Prince Kanu stated that the programmes which secured full accreditation are law, agriculture, mass communication, educational management, and planning.

He pointed out that the accreditation status will be valid for a period of five years.

In a move to further enhance the university, the state government has approved a sum of ₦800 million to acquire engineering equipment that will support the development of ABSU’s engineering faculty.

The commissioner highlighted this development as a major accomplishment by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, which aligns with Governor Otti’s continuing educational reform efforts and his earlier declaration of a state of emergency in the sector.

“The State Ministry of Tertiary Education has continued to record giant strides in service delivery in line with the vision and agenda of His Excellency Dr Alex Otti in the field of Education.”

“If you recall, at the outset of this administration, His Excellency declared a state of emergency in the field of Education, and ever since, the State Government has not looked back in that direction.”

“So through the Ministry of Tertiary Education, quite a lot is happening in that space”, Prince Kanu stated.

He announced that the Governor, along with the University’s Council, has given the go-ahead for the recruitment of new academic personnel to fill existing staff vacancies at the university.

Prince Kanu also reported that renovation work is actively ongoing at the Male Hostel in the University, following an unplanned inspection by Governor Otti, and the work is projected to finish by the end of May.

The Commissioner emphasized that the education reforms initiated by the governor are producing notable improvements both in academics and technology at Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.

According to him, students from the polytechnic achieved a perfect success rate in Phase 1 of the Modular Practical Exams organized by the National Institute of Science Laboratory Technology.

“All the 164 students fielded by the school for the exam passed with a success rate of 100%. For Modular 2, 157 out of 158 students passed, representing a 99% success rate”, Prince Kanu revealed.

He noted that the Polytechnic has introduced an online clearance platform to help reduce administrative challenges for students. He also mentioned that the institution is currently overhauling its curriculum to incorporate new courses like Artificial Intelligence to keep pace with international standards.

In addition, he announced that staff members of the institution have received promotions with full financial entitlements and that salary arrears are being paid to former and resigned employees following the State Executive Council’s approval.

“In terms of administration and welfare of the Staff of the University, all the Staff of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic have been promoted with full financial benefits. The council has approved in that regard.”

“It is instructive to note that this is the first promotion exercise in the Institution since 2008, making it a major morale booster for the personnel.”

“Also, the payments of arrears of salaries of sacked and resigned staff of the institution have commenced, as approved by the State Executive Council”, Prince Kanu stated.

The Commissioner further disclosed that the Executive Council has approved the hiring of 5,300 teachers as part of the first phase of the ongoing Teacher Recruitment Exercise.

“This represents the number of people who were successful through the process. Another round of the teacher recruitment exercise will soon be announced. A portal in that regard will be opened in the next couple of days”, he said.