147 students of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in Borno State will be awarded first class degrees during the combined convocation of the institution slated for Saturday, November 18, 2023.

The UNIMAID Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba, made this known while briefing newsmen ahead of the 24th convocation ceremony in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Wednesday.

Shugaba said the 33,429 graduating students were those of 2018/2019, 2019/2020, and 2020/2021 academic sessions.

He said: “The summary of the statistics for the undergraduate level shows that 20,048 are graduating from the regular undergraduate programmes, 6,940 from Affiliated Colleges, and 3,032 from Centre for Distance Learning (CDL).

“A total of 147 students got First Class, out of which 86 came from the regular undergraduate programmes and 61 from Affiliated Colleges.

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“Similarly, the statistics for Postgraduate degree graduation shows a total of 1,698 graduating students. These include 113 PhDs, 817 Masters degree, and 902 Postgraduate Diploma students.

“The summary of statistics for recipients of Certificates and Diplomas shows that a total of 1,711 students are graduating.”

The VC stated that the 24th convocation ceremony was special in many ways as it was the first since 2018 and was marked with special Friday mosque prayer and Sunday inter-denominational church service.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, will present the convocation lecture, titled, “Prospects and Challenges of Tertiary Education in Contemporary Nigeria”, on Thursday.

Shugaba said four distinguished personalities, comprising Vice President Kashim Shettima; Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Umar Garbai El-Kanemi; the Chairman BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu; and the former Registrar of the university, Dahiru Bobbo; would be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.

The Star