By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT: The management of Madonna University has announced that 1,800 students will graduate during its 23rd Convocation Ceremony.

The University disclosed that 120 of the 1,800 graduands bagged First Class honours across various disciplines, adding that Honorary ‘Honoris Causa’ degrees would also be awarded to deserving individuals during the ceremony scheduled for Friday.

Speaking during a media chat as part of activities marking the convocation, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Casmir Anyanwu, said the number of graduands, particularly the 120 First Class graduates, reflects the institution’s steady growth and commitment to excellence.

Anyanwu, who spoke at its campuses in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, yesterday, said beyond the colourful ceremony, the management is celebrating: “a university that has made a quantum leap and has taken an important place in academic excellence, moral upbringing, and manpower development.”

He noted that since its founding, Madonna University has never embarked on any strike action, stressing that disruptions to academic activities are considered unacceptable in the institution.

Anyanwu said: “We have had an untruncated academic calendar for 26 years. We came to correct the anomalies of disrupted academic calendars caused by strike actions, and we have achieved that.

“This year, we are graduating 1,800 students. It means continuity—a seamless graduation process for 26 years. That is growth.”

He urged the graduands to uphold the strong moral standards instilled in them during their studies.

The Vice Chancellor also stated that Madonna University is now an international brand, adding that the institution belongs to the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), and that its Deputy Vice Chancellor Administrator, Prof. Martin Anagboso, has been elected into IFCU’s Board of Trustees.

Anyanwu also revealed that Madonna University is the only university in the South-East and South-South approved to benefit from TETFUND, and that all its engineering programmes have been fully accredited.

Speaking more on some recent achievements, Anyanwu revealed that the institution recorded a 100% pass rate in the Registered Nursing Professional Examinations and Law. He also noted that Madonna University is the first to produce eight Nursing students with Registered Public Health Licenses.

According to him, the university has recorded several infrastructural milestones in the past year, including: A completed 60,000-capacity convocation arena. A multipurpose and innovation hall—an 8,000-capacity, three-in-one international conference hall A CBT hall equipped with 200 computers, A completed College of Medicine building with multiple classrooms, 120 guest houses with 250 rooms for postgraduate accommodation and others.

The VC expressed concern over the impact of the Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East declared by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), explaining that the directive has been affecting academic activities in the university’s campuses located in the region.

He said: “On Mondays, our teachers find it difficult to come to work because of the sit-at-home. They are afraid. So, you cannot access our campuses on Mondays. We are working hard to resolve it.”