Margee Ensign, the president of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, has stated that the university will be seeking the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to run degree and postgraduate programmes in the fields of medicine and public health.
Ensign made this known recently during the matriculation ceremony of students admitted for 2023 academic session.
“We are committed this semester to apply (to the National Universities Commission) and we hope, very much, to have approval for public health both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We have always wanted to do public health and the pandemic has spurred us on.
“There was always scepticism but we found out during the pandemic that in-person learning can be limited. We want to open up a world-class education that is offered at AUN to everyone. So we are working very hard to also seek approval with the NUC, to run hybrid programmes. We will start with graduate programmes, particularly from our information and communication technology and computing, business and entrepreneurship,” she said.
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The president in her speech revealed that the university is matriculating one of the largest sets of students for an academic stream, besides that a large number of Chibok girls from the AUN foundation school matriculated into the institution and were doing very well.
Moreover, she noted that the consideration and proposal by the university to apply for programmes in the fields of medicine and public health was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that the institution had commenced hybrid programmes in the fields of information and communication technology as a result of the pandemic.
Ensign, however, decried the severity of the impact of COVID-19 on her home country, the United States of America, and warned Nigerians against letting down their guards just because the infection and fatality ratios were lesser in the country.
“Just because Nigerians have not experienced what my country experienced does not mean this virus has run its course. “Viruses work hard to survive and they work hard with those who are not vaccinated and that remains a big part of the challenge. And containing that explains why public health is important in educating people,” Ensign said.
