From Paul Orude, Bauchi
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has donated an Information Computer Technology Centre equipped with 40 computers and an e-library to the Remedial Unit of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi.
The Senior Procurement Officer of NPA, Tukur Buba, disclosed that the donation was to assist the remedial students improve their knowledge of ICT and succeed in their academic pursuit.
Buba admonished the students to maintain the facilities in the Centre and protect them against any form of vandalisation.
“I enjoin you to make good use of the facility and avoid, no vandalization. I want you to regard these computers as if they were your personal property because after you make use of them, your children and grandchildren will come and make use of it maybe even with a better technology,” he stated.
In his response, the ATBU Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammed Abdulazeez, commended the NPA for coming to their rescue of the institution by donating the ICT Centre.
Abdulazeez said that the gesture will help the students reduce the search for physical books.
He opined that, students fail the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination mainly because of their lack of the knowledge of ICT.
He said these would help the university transition from analog to digital.
” This is an advantage to students because they can practice using these facilities,. the VC said.
“I want to urge the Directorate that all tests for remedials should now turn to be CBT so that they will be conversant with the ICT and upgrade their knowledge because these are UTME questions.”
He also enjoined the students to take care of these facilities because, according to him, “if you destroy them, you are destroying our money and if you keep it, you’re indirectly keeping our money. Know that whatever you do to these systems, someone somewhere will do it to you.”
Abdulazeez declared that institution targets that not just the students of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University will benefit from it but students outside the University will also come to use the UTME facilities “because we’re trying to make sure that everybody in Nigeria has access to quality education and access to university education.”
The Director of Basic and Remedial Studies of ATBU, Professor Hamma Sabo, said that the Centre will have a great impact on the students.
He said: “This is a digital laboratory. Library is very critical in the development of education. In fact, any academic institution without a library is completely academically irrelevant.
“Library has migrated to an information science where you can communicate, get latest information, latest books do all your information activities.”