The Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, Anambra State, Dr Tessy Okoli, has advised newly admitted students of the institution to embrace entrepreneurship and vocational programmes offered in the institution for self development.
She said the College places high premium on technical and vocational skills, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to equip students with life-time skills that would make them job creators. Dr Okoli stated this, while addressing new students of the College during the 31st/9th joint matriculation ceremony held recently at the Convocation Arena of the Main Campus.
Attendance to the event was restricted to only the matriculating students to ensure social distancing as contained in the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines to curtail the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
The Provost said Nigeria needs a new generation of entrepreneurs would dominate the labour market and reduce the unemployment rate in the country. She said the College has continued to lay strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, Information and communication Technology (ICT), technical and vocational skills, as an immediate response to the demands of the present age.
“To encourage the acquisition of ICT skills among students, the College has completed two befitting ICT building with funding by TET- Fund. The ICT Academy to train our students on various computer programmes and packages will soon commence. This renewed focus on ICT is already yielding the desired results,” she said.
“In FCET Umunze, quality edu- cation remains our watchword. At the last convocation ceremony of our affiliate institution, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, 13 students of our College were awarded certificates of merit for their outstanding performance in various academic programmes,” she explained.
She advised the new students to channel their youthful energies on rewarding ventures. She noted that the College transparent admission policy ensured that students were admitted solely on merit.
“Getting admission into this institution bestows on each student an enormous responsibility to live up to the required expectations. I assure you that the College Management will continue to provide the required facilities and resources for excellence to thrive. The College has enjoyed a stable academic calendar over the years. In keeping with this tradition, we are not lowering our guards to maintain sanity and a peaceful environment for students,” she stressed.
Okoli explained that the College does not tolerate bribe-for-marks, often referred to as ‘sorting’ by students and urged them to imbibe the trait of hard work throughout their stay on campus.
“Our commitment to crime-free campus is sacrosanct. You are privileged to be part of this process and it is our expectation that you won’t breach the peace of this institution. As you take your matriculation vow today, I urge you to live by your vow and conduct yourself with decorum,” she advised.
The Provost frowned at poor time management by most students, not- ing that tertiary institution is not a city of pleasure as erroneously believed by some people. She encouraged the students to form study groups and avoid negative peer influence. She also advised students to exercise discretion in the use of social media.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof Charles Esimone, warned that students guilty of examination malpractice could be suspended for up to three years. He stated that students were expected to attend at least 75 per cent of all lectures and practicals before they could be allowed to write examination.
While congratulating the students, the VC, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof Frederick Odibo, said the affiliation of the College with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University afforded admitted students under the affiliation structure the privilege of studying for a degree pro- gramme of the university domiciled in FCET Umunze.
