VICE Chancellor (VC) of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Rivers state, Prof Owunari Georgewill, has urged stakeholders to discountenance rumours trending in the social media about a graduating list of 2000 students waiting to be released by the varsity.
Owunari made the clarification weekend at the university’s Council Chambers while announcing UNIPORT’s new height as Nigeria’s 4th best university on the new global Webometric Rankings released for 2023.
Prof Owunari explained, “Some persons have been talking about 2000 students that are on graduating list waiting to be released. Please take it out from here, there is no such list. No waiting list anywhere.
“This administration ensures for every result ready, the VC executively approves, releases that result, to whenever Senate is called to ratify same. So no result anywhere we have left to wait, for what. I have interacted with some of the persons (students) making the claims on social media.
“I told them, go to your department. I asked one of the, have you seen your spreadsheet, she said no. So how do know you’re on a waiting list, she said her course teacher told her. I asked, what is your CGPA, she said she does not know, but they said she has something like 2nd Class Lower.
“I said are are happy with this thing you’re saying? A student who says she has graduated has not seen her spreadsheet, does not know her CGPA and is waiting for approval of graduating list. Please, any student who says he has finished and has issues, go to your department. Ask for your spreadsheet, the total of all you have done in four, five or six years of your programme.
“I also told them, if you have any challenge having your spreadsheet, call me when you’re in that department, I will come. We will explain to you why you have not graduated. Until you do that, you can’t go public to say you’re graduated and they’re holding your result. What would will hold your result for? Nobody is holding any result.”
On the new ranking as 4th best Nigerian University, the VC said, “We’ve been ranked first before, during the time of Prof Joseph Ajienka, the 7th VC. It’s unfortunate after that time, we fell and now we are rising again. It is our prayer that we will get to the first position again.”
Prof Owunari noted that UNIPORT’s new rapid rise on the ranking from when his administration came onboard to being 5th in 2022 and now 4th best has been propelled by renewed commitment to openness, excellence and harmonious working relationship among staff, students, council, senate and dependable external stakeholders.
