4,380 take oath at UNIPORT’s 34th matriculation ceremony

A total of 4,380 students took the matriculation oath for the 2012/2013 academic session during the University of Port Harcourt’s 34th Matriculation Ceremony, held at the university’s Convocation Arena, University Park, recently.

A breakdown of the figure shows that College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) had the highest number of students with 1,027 while the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences had the list with 105 students.

Others are: Faculty of Humanities, 837 students; Faculty of Social Sciences, 343; Faculty of Education, 999; College of Engineering, 255; Faculty of Management Sciences, 450; Faculty of Agriculture, 172; while the College of Health Sciences matriculated 192 students.

Joseph Ajienka, vice chancellor of University of Port Harcourt, said UNIPORT has maintained a well established culture of academic excellence since its inception in 1975; and urged the new students to imbibe this widely-acknowledged tradition of academic and sporting excellence, that have brought the university immense recognition both at home and abroad, adding that the significance of the 34th matriculation should guide their conducts throughout their stay in the institution.

Ajienka reminded the students that the recent matriculation marked their formal admission as bona fide members of a specialised community of scholars, who are united in a search for higher knowledge that would serve the greater interest of society.

The professor admonished the new students to maintain the matriculation oath which spells out certain ethos and rules of intellectual engagement; and also exhibit a high level of personal discipline as a precondition to success in their studies and future career.

The VC advised the freshmen to shun unethical tendencies such as cultism and examination malpractice, warning that the University Senate would not hesitate to invoke relevant sections of the law against any student caught engaging in these acts.

He disclosed that the institution has reintroduced the Dean’s list and scholarships for the best candidates in the Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) and Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (PUTME).

According to him, candidates who scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.5 would be awarded the University Scholarship; while those that scored 4.00 CGPA and above would be placed on the Dean’s list.

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