Business courses top as RSUST admits 3912 for 2016

Demand for business courses has risen in recent years at the Rivers State University of Science and Education, which admitted almost 4000 students for the new session (2015/2016).

This is as the new vice chancellor, Blessing Didia, has threatened maximum sanctions on any lecturer found delaying students’ results.

The university swore in 3912 on Wednesday, at the convocation complex into seven faculties for the current session and warned the students to stay clear of cultism or indulgence in sorting as he urged them to strive to be the seeds that would fall on fertile grounds.

Management Sciences once again topped the list with 1,119 students followed by Engineering with 949, Technical & Science Education 607, Sciences 490 while Agriculture came last with 185 entrants. Management Sciences had in 2015 surrendered to Engineering, which topped with 1048.

Explaining the surge in Management Sciences, the acting VC said there was huge demand for courses in the faculty, saying most students want to go into businesses such as business management, economics, banking, finance, office management and automation, after graduation.

Demand for Engineering courses had remained high with huge interest in the oil and construction sectors in the oil region especially in Petroleum Engineering, Geology, Civil, Mechanical Engineering, etc which had been the focus of the oil companies. Many companies have scholarships in Engineering courses in the UST.

Didia, a professor of human anatomy appointed from the University of Port Harcourt by Nyesom Wike in July 2015 for first six months made it clear that those impediments that made people over-stay in the University had been removed. “From now on, the University timetable will be strictly adhered to and your result will be promptly released and any lecturer involved in undue delay of results will be punished according to the law”.

The UST had achieved a huge fame in the past few years for prompt and online results details and instant issuance of certificates as well as transcripts upon graduation. Getting this feat done seemed to be part of the endless friction between the former VC, BB Fakae, and a section of the lecturers’ union.

In apparent reaction to recent flare of cult violence, Didia said the students had no reason not to face their studies seriously as the university authority had taken what he called far-reaching decisions to secure the institution, provide a conducive learning environment and upgrade some faculties. He talked about flip boards in some classrooms, new seats and fans in the classrooms. The VC said a health insurance scheme for students has been introduced.

He said the faculty of law building has become the best in Africa and that it has been provided with computer laboratory and language lab for Mass Communication students. “We are close to achieving world-class university status and realise the dream of our founding fathers”.

In an interview, Didia told BusinessDay that the UST would have no hitches whatsoever in the upcoming National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation exercise, saying there was no financial threat to that effect.

He said he expected better matriculation in 2017 and a more robust UST in the next one year.