22 bag first class, 6 PhD as NOUN graduates 22,175 students

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is set to hold its 13th convocation ceremony for 22,175 students across the country. 

Speaking ahead of the ceremony scheduled for April 13, Olufemi Peters, the vice-chancellor of NOUN, said the convocation will showcase the viability of the school’s technology systems. 

Peters said out of the 22,175 students, 15,768 will receive their undergraduate degrees, 6,407 will be awarded postgraduate certificates while 22 will graduate as first class students. 

“The forthcoming convocation would be an opportunity to showcase what the institution can do with technology,” he said.

“Of this number, 15,768 are undergraduate degrees, while 6,407 are for postgraduate degrees, with the Faculty of Social Sciences producing the highest number of graduates.

“22 of these students are first class, 2,362 are PGD graduates, while 41 are Masters and six leaving the institution as PHD holders.

“This is an indication that the school is gradually moving towards establishing a more robust post graduate school.”

Peters added that the graduating students will join the convocation ceremony virtually from its 120 study centres in Nigeria. 

The VC also revealed that NOUN will upgrade all its study centres with fibre optics to speed up the transmission of data. 

Fiber optics is the technology used to transmit information as light pulses along a glass or plastic fiber.

Peters said the “rate of technology advancement” at NOUN attracted the offer from TETFund.

“Right now, our academics all over the faculties and departments have video components to assist our students and we deploy this with ease,” he added. 

“And because of the manner we deploy technology, TETFund has offered to assist us with fibre optics in all our study centres across the country.

“It is a testimony to where we are in terms of technology.”

Peters revealed that Innocent Chukwuma, the CEO of Innoson Motors; Hajia Hafsatu Abdulwaheed, the first female novelist in northern Nigeria, will be conferred honorary doctorate degrees at the convocation ceremony.