104 Earn First-Class as FUNAAB Graduates 4,141 Students at 33rd Convocation
The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), will graduate 4,141 students at its 33rd convocation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, with 104 students earning First-Class Honours degrees.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing at the Senate Building ahead of the event.
He also announced that the Federal Government has approved the reinstatement of four Management Sciences programmes including Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration and Economics which were previously removed from the university’s academic offerings during the 2017/2018 session by the National Universities Commission.
In addition, the institution has introduced new programmes, including Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, Forestry Resource Management, Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Climate Science and Agricultural Meteorology, as well as Cooperative and Development Studies. With these additions, FUNAAB now runs 44 academic programmes across 55 departments.
Providing a breakdown of graduating students, Kehinde stated that 1,771 graduands earned Second-Class Upper degrees, 1,896 obtained Second-Class Lower, 285 finished with Third-Class degrees, while two students recorded Pass grades.
Another 41 students will receive degrees in Veterinary Medicine, which are not classified under the conventional degree grading system.
For postgraduate studies, the university will award 49 Postgraduate Diplomas, 164 Master’s degrees and 89 Doctorate degrees in various disciplines.
The Vice-Chancellor named Osiama Chinyere of the Department of Food and Nutrition, who recorded a CGPA of 4.85, as the overall best graduating student.
Kehinde also revealed that nearly 5,000 FUNAAB students have benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), receiving financial support amounting to about N840 million.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing the scheme, describing it as a major relief for students facing financial difficulties.
On infrastructure and energy development, the Vice-Chancellor announced that the university’s World Bank-assisted 3MW hybrid solar power project has reached a key milestone, now supplying uninterrupted electricity to all facilities during the day and powering about half of the campus at night.
He said this places FUNAAB among Nigerian universities adopting renewable energy to improve academic and residential life.
He further listed several projects to be inaugurated during the convocation, including the College of Physical Sciences, a 240-capacity computer laboratory, an animal demonstration laboratory, a veterinary anatomy laboratory (Phase I), and new residential quarters for principal officers.
Kehinde described the forthcoming convocation as a celebration of academic achievement, resilience and new beginnings for graduands being released as skilled professionals, innovators and future leaders.
