The outgoing Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke (FUO), Prof. Seth Jaja, has said that students who cannot cope with the academic standards of the institution, in terms of character and academic performance, will be expelled.
Jaja disclosed this on Saturday at the ninth matriculation ceremony of the institution held at its East Campus Arena in Otuoke, Bayelsa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jaja’s tenure as the vice chancellor will end next week.
Jaja warned the matriculating students to shun all illegal associations and relationships in and around the university environment.
He said the institution’s core mandate was embedded in teaching, research, community service and by extension character moulding.
He said the institution was out “to produce functional entrepreneurial and employable graduates who would be worthy in character and in learning’’.
Jaja said FUO had zero tolerance for examination malpractice, cultism and other vices.
He said while a total of 8,101 candidates applied for admissions into the 26 programmes of the university, only the 3,183 who matriculated on Saturday were offered admissions.
Jaja said that FUO had constituted a COVID-19 compliance committee across its five faculties to curb the spread of the virus.
He encouraged members of the university community to wear face masks, wash their hands regularly and use alcohol-based hand sanitisers as precautionary measures while on campus.
He disclosed that the National Universities Commission (NUC) had directed vice chancellors to approve a compulsory vacation for students and staff of their institutions following a spike in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria.
