A total of 25 students have graduated with a first class at Al-Hikmah University, in Ilorin, Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria.
The faith-based private institution also produced its first set of doctoral graduates at its 12th convocation ceremony held on Saturday.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Noah Yusuf, said the university recorded a total of 1,280 graduands in the 2021/2022 academic session.
Yusuf said 362 graduands obtained a second class in the upper division, 566 bagged a second class in the lower division, and 94 obtained a third class.
He said that the university produced a total number of 1,047 first-degree graduates, 184 post-graduates, and 49 diploma holders in the outgoing academic year.
Yusuf explained that the institution did not produce a high number of first-class graduates because of its strict academic discipline adding that “the university holds firmly to its motto, ‘Learning for wisdom and Morality.’
“Our class of degrees is awarded without sacrificing academic excellence for numbers,” he added.
The vice chancellor, however, lamented the menace of drug abuse among the youth in the country, advising parents and university vice chancellors to check the spread among students
Earlier in a media chat that heralded the convocation ceremony, he disclosed that Students in public universities are now seeking transfer to private universities because of the incessant and prolonged strike actions by members of the Academic Staff of Nigeria Universities (ASUU).
Yusuf disclosed that the university has witnessed upsurge in the number of students seeking transfer to it from public universities.
“Private universities are recording upsurge in the number of students from public universities seeking transfer because of the stable academic calendars at the private universities.
“At Al- Hikmah University, we have witnessed upsurge in the number of enrolment and students from the public universities seeking to complete their courses here because of our stable academic calendar,” he added.
Yusuf who rued the incessant strike actions by ASUU, however, advised the federal government to accord education topmost priority.
