Excerpts from the address delivered by Professor Ikechukwu N. S Dozie, Vice-Chancellor, K.O. Mbadiwe University, Ideato on the occasion of the 6st Matriculation Ceremony held on Wednesday, 20 March 2024
“Today, we admit about 260 students into our prestigious institution for the task of grooming them to become future leaders in their chosen areas of endeavour.
On behalf of our Visitor, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma, CON, Senate, Staff and
Students of Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Ideato, I am most delighted to welcome all our distinguished guests to the 6th Matriculation Ceremony of our young, but rapidly growing institution. In a special way, I warmly welcome the friends of the university, dear parents and guardians, as well as the gentlemen of the press who have come from different parts of the country to witness and add colour to our matriculation ceremony.
I thank God Almighty for journey mercies and for the grace and special privilege of celebrating the 6th Matriculation Ceremony, where we will formally admit our freshmen and women into the prestigious membership of our university. We cannot gainsay the fact that this is a special day in the annals of our young institution and in the history of our dear state, Imo, The Eastern Heartland.
The Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University (KOMU) is a public institution created by
the Imo State of Nigeria Law No. 1 of 2021 to replace the former Eastern Palm University which was established in 2016 and recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as the 42th State University and 143rd in the Nigerian University System.
The mandate of KOMU is to encourage the advancement of learning in Imo State in particular and Nigeria in general, to hold out to all persons without the distinction of race, creed or sex and to give them the opportunity of acquiring higher education in various fields of study. The overriding objective for the establishment of KOMU is to expand access to quality and uninterrupted university education in Imo State and Nigeria.
The vision of KOMU is to be a globally competitive institution, renowned for innovative research and scholarship, world-class education and human resource development, and committed to addressing current and future needs of society.
The mission of KOMU is to produce talented men and women with the passion and skills to apply knowledge and technology sensibly to solve the problems of the nation and the global community. At the core of this mission is our firm desire to educate future leaders not just to acquire requisite knowledge and various life survival skills, but leaders with deep passion for humanity in the discharge of their civic responsibilities for the good of society, developing the complete man-soul, body and divinity.
Our institutional philosophy is driven by a strong determination to produce scholars who are loaded with triple capacity for success, global competitiveness and stardom anchored on our core values of integrity, excellence, teamwork, innovation and collaboration.
K.O. Mbadiwe University offers various undergraduate degree programmes. Currently the university offers 26 academic programmes distributed across four (4) faculties:
Faculty of Science [10 programmes], Faculty of Social and Management Sciences [10 programmes], Faculty of Arts [4 programmes] and Faculty of Environmental Sciences [2
programmes].
l am convinced that many of you chose KOMU without understanding the benefits of the
education and training you would receive here. Permit me to share some of these benefits with you.
KOMU maintains a stable academic calendar. We have successfully concluded the 2022/2023 academic session, and currently, we are in the 11th week of the first semester of the 2023/2024 academic session. Because we have a stable academic calendar, our students continue to graduate within the duration of their studies. Permit me to inform you that we have produced the 1st batch of graduates (the 2017/2018 set) and the 2nd batch (the 2018/2019 set) of students and we have successfully mobilized them for the compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. We remain committed to the timely graduation of our students.
Our pool of qualified, experienced and dedicated teachers are trained to deliver high standards of teaching and mentorship based on dynamic curricula which emphasize entrepreneurship education and relevant skill acquisition which is driven by innovative technology. In addition, all 15 mature programmes in the university are accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC). They are Biochemistry,
Microbiology, Computer Science, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics,
Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, English & Literary Studies, History & International Studies, Banking & Finance, Animal & Environmental Biology, Physics and
Linguistics. It is worthy of mention that our B. Sc Architecture programme will mature for accreditation visits by NUC and the professional body in the 2023/2024 session, and we have already started preparations to ensure a successful accreditation exercise.
Part of our commitment to achieve good students’ experience on graduation is to ensure that their degree results and transcripts are ready for collection immediately after graduation. It is worthy of note that the transcripts of all graduates of our university are ready for collection. This is our commitment to change the narratives in Nigerian public institutions in respect of delays in processing students’ transcripts and degree certificates. The Statement of Result issued to our graduates is valid for only one year on graduation and this to enable them enrol for the NYSC programme.
Our fees are affordable and payable in two instalments in the first semester and the second semester. The school fee is N120,000.00 for all courses and N150,000.00 for the available professional courses, namely Computer Science, Architecture, Estate Management and Accounting. The accommodation fee is N100,O00.00 per session and optional for students from 200 Level and above. As a policy, all freshmen and women in the 100 Level will live in the hostels. The only exceptions are those from the immediate host communities. The acceptance fee is N50,000.00.
We have impressive facilities for teaching and learning and for recreational purposes. I am sure you can all attest to this fact since you have been here in the last thirteen (13) weeks. The classrooms are also comfortable, while our laboratories are fairly equipped. Our hostel accommodation is excellent and perhaps the best when compared with any other public or private institution in Nigeria as all the rooms have private bathrooms, and each room houses only two students.
The university library is equipped with a rich stock of current physical books and electronic books are available and accessible through various platforms such as ProQuest, Research For Life and a host of open learning resources such as OpenLearn, Cosmo Learning, Open Culture, Gresham, MIT Open, Open Yale, and Kutztown.
Our ICT facilities are modest and support innovations in teaching and learning and overall research for development. Our Virtual Classroom is functioning with regular delivery of on-line lectures and other academic activities. As you are aware, all General Studies (GS) courses are delivered on-line. This is in addition to submission of assignments you were given during the orientation programme in December 2023
using your personal institutional e-mails.
The university website www.komu.edu.ng is quite robust and very interactive. As you know too, all your application processes and payment of fees were done on the student portal on the website.
K.O. Mbadiwe University campus is the smartest and most beautiful campus in Nigeria. As you have seen, the campus layout is smart and serene with good ambience [lush green grasses, paved roads etc.] for teaching, learning and students’ habitation. Furthermore, it is safe and secure as the university is all fenced round. KOMU has an experienced and passionate management team working hard to give practical and positive expression to the actualization of the mandate of establishment of the university. Our host communities are also friendly and accommodating.
Our dream is to build a first-class institution and a first-choice destination
within the first 10 years of establishment [2016-2026]. My dear students, now that you have known the benefits of studying in KOMU, you must consider yourselves lucky
to be part of the KOMU family. By academic culture and tradition, the matriculation ceremony is characterized by the formal admittance of freshmen and women into an institution after they have taken the matriculation oath of good conduct and good behaviour.
Today, we will admit about 260 students into our prestigious institution for the task of grooming them to become future leaders in their chosen areas of endeavour. The significance of swearing the matriculation oath is that the student has agreed to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution. Therefore, I will enjoin our new students to internalize, remember, abide and live by the words of the matriculation oath you have sworn. As you work each day to receive your education at KOMU, let the matriculation oath be a guiding compass.
