Female students shine as BUK awards first class degrees
Aformer student of Bayero University Kano (BUK) who does not want to be named has said that it was easier said than done for several students to finish undergraduate studies with first class degrees in many universities within a given period of time in the past.
He however noted that with the increase in high entry grades, increase in student number and courses as well as dedicated and easygoing lecturers, there are fewer re-sits and more first class degrees these days, adding that “students too, are hard working at the present.”
A couple of weeks ago, BUK celebrated another milestone in the history of its academic achievements as it graduated 8,634 students from different academic disciplines at its 34th convocation.
For many, the convocation ceremony was not a mere celebration of academic successes recorded within the year, but also the dawn of hope for addressing the issue of gender disparity in access to western education in northern Nigeria.
Seventy two candidates at the end of the 2017/2018 academic session obtained first class degrees with female students featuring prominently among them, thereby giving more assurance to the fate of girls’ education in the northern part of the country.
Of greater interest in this, is the emergence of Rahama Habibu Rabi’u as the overall best graduating student for 2017/2018 academic session.
Rahama, who was a student of Biological Sciences and Botanist, was adjudged the best after scoring 4.97 in her final CGPA in a class dominated by male students.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Rahama said with hard work and prayer there was nothing a woman cannot achieve even in a society dominated by men.
She attributed her success to perseverance and hard work, and urged her colleagues to be attentive and constant in prayer, saying it is the key to success in all spheres of life.
“As the overall best graduating student, I feel excited and honoured. I believe there is nothing one cannot achieve if she puts in her best and commits to constant prayer. Today, I am being celebrated because I put in my best effort in my studies. So my advice to undergraduates in the university is to be hard working and prayerful,” she said.
Speaking about the challenges in the course of her studies, Rahama said “The challenges were in level four; the project work, the seminars, tests, quiz competitions and lectures, but God in His infinite mercy, I have been able to overcome all the hurdles.”
A total of 5,401 graduands were awarded with first degrees during the convocation, while 1,833 others were conferred with master’s degrees respectively.
Our reporter gathered that 70 candidates bagged PhD degrees and 656 others were presented with postgraduate diploma certificates during the convocation.
The convocation ceremonies were scheduled in five days April 3th and 7th, 2018 -thereby giving ample opportunity to the students to celebrate their academic achievements.
On the first day of the ceremonies, 932 graduands from five faculties were conferred honours.
The faculties were Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Computer Science and Information Technology, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Communication.
The convocation lecture on ‘Leadership, Security, Democracy and Development Challenges in Africa: Reflections by Scholar Diplomat’, was delivered on the fourth day by the prochancellor of the university, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari.
Speaking on the successes recorded in the university within the last academic session, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammad Yahuza Bello, said the institution had secured full accreditation for programmes it presented to the National Universities Commission (NUC).
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, you may wish to note that Bayero University has maintained and improved on its records of academic excellence. In the last one year all programmes presented by the university for accreditation by regulatory and professional bodies have secured full accreditation. The most recent are the 15 undergraduate and eight post graduate programmes to meet the yearnings of persons seeking admission into the institution,” he maintained. with first degree