The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has accessed the sum of N4.6 billion from the N200 billion recently released by the federal government to universities in line with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) agreement with government, late last year.
The institution would also tomorrow graduate 1, 507 students who, for three academic years, were not privileged to do so with their colleagues who passed out.
Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. James Epoke, who disclosed this during a media chat in Calabar, said the Need Assessment Team that visited the institution gave a picture of how the funds should be spent.
He said: “N2 billion is set aside for hostels. We are building a hostel in the medical school, another one in the main campus while the post graduate school will also has one. Besides, we shall update our libraries, classroom blocks and do a lot of renovation works.”
Epoke added that hostels were being renovated to provide comfort thereby boosting the learning environment, and that the turnover was now 98 per cent efficient as compared to the past. He promised a successful utilisation of the funds.
He said academic staff unit has set up a quality assurance committee in all the faculties to look at how scripts are marked and examination questions set, and that the committee also provides mechanism for students to assess their lecturers.
“This would improve quality of teaching and quality of learning,” he said, and added that ‘sorting’ was gradually being eliminated with timely release of result.
The VC said UNICAL’s Institute of Oceanography has just signed Memorandum of Understanding with Centre for Fish seed Research and Development for West Africa “to enhance cooperation between and across the region in aquaculture for fish seed multiplication.”
He, however, decried absence of faculty of engineering and school of pharmacy in the institution but assured that things were being put in place to ensure the two pragrammes come on board in 2014/2015 academic year.
