The Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Ondo State, has announced that 1,452 students will be awarded first degrees at its forthcoming ninth convocation ceremony.
According to the state government-owned institution, 50 of the graduating students earned first-class honours.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in his office on activities lined up for the ceremony.
Giving a breakdown of the graduating students, Ologunorisa said, “By the grace of God, we will have about 1,452 graduates on that day. Out of the 1,452 graduates, 50 are in the first-class category, 594 in the second-class upper division, 691 in the second-class lower division, and 115 in the third class.”
The Vice-Chancellor, who has only a few months left in office, also stated that the ceremony would mark the first time the institution would graduate a doctoral student, who earned a PhD in Mathematics since its inception.
He noted that the varsity had recorded significant progress in both academic and human development, disclosing that the student population had risen to 12,000 from 5,000 a few years ago.
“The purpose of a university is teaching, research and community engagement, and we have made significant progress in all these areas. Over the past five years, student enrolment increased from 5,000 to 6,000, then to 8,500, and today we have a student population of 12,000. The number of faculties has also increased from three to seven.
“Our staff have also excelled in research, winning numerous awards and recognition. Some are listed among the top scientists in the world in their fields. We have moved beyond theory to produce practical solutions,” he said.
Ologunorisa added that the institution has collaborations with foreign universities, including the University of Missouri, Morgan State University, and the Caribbean Maritime University, among others.
He said, “Our convocation lecture will be delivered by the President of Caribbean Maritime University, Professor Andrew Spencer, who will speak on how Nigeria can harness the blue economy, drawing lessons from the Caribbean.
“Many of our students now proceed directly from undergraduate studies to PhD programmes in leading universities abroad. Some of our staff are also in high demand internationally, with offers of double promotions for those who leave. This demonstrates the high quality of scholarship at the university.”
