THE BAYELSA MEDICAL UNIVERISTY (BMU), YENAGOA HOLDS HER 2ND MATRICULATION CEREMONY FOR FRESH STUDENTS FOR THE 2020/2021 ACADEMIC YEAR. - AUGUST 28th, 2021.
The 2nd Matriculation Ceremony of the prestigious Bayelsa Medical University held on Saturday 28th August, 2021 at the Auditorium of the University with dignitaries from the academia in attendance. The Ceremony Commenced with a Procession into the Auditorium by Students, Followed by the Senate officer, the Admission officer, Faculty officers, Lecturers, Heads of Departments, Deans and Academic Directors, the Director of Academic Planning, Research and Innovation, the Univesity Librarian, the Bursar, the Registrar and the Deputy Vice Chancellor representing the Vice Chancellor.
Procession into the Auditorium
Like many other Universities globally, the Bayelsa Medical University Yenagoa, has imbibed the tradition of organizing Matriculation Ceremonies for its Students, a ritual dating back centuries. This year the event sook place on the 28th of August 2021 at the historic and iconic beautiful auditorium of the Bayelsa Medical University in Yenagoa. For BMU, this event constitutes the official welcome to all newly enrolled undergraduate students. Due to the COVID-19, pandemic strict Covid-19 protocols were observed. All participants were mandated to wear a facemask and observe social distancing. Also hand sanitizers were at strategic locations and a team from the BMU Health centre was deployed on ground.
The ceremony itself was quite brief. It lasted about 45 minutes, during which the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ebitimitula Nicholas Etebu, had a welcome message for his beloved students ably delivered by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Paingha Joe Alagoa., .
Also, the Registrar Dr. Guagha Micky Berezi requested the VC to officially admit incoming students, as members of the University and he replied affirmatively, stating that the students hence forth are students of BMU and shall thereon be bound by the University’s codes and regulations.
BMU Principal Officers, Professors, Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments, lecturers, and non academic staff were present to support students who have come to BMU from all around Nigeria to pursue their dreams to learn from world-renowned scholars, and develop skills they need to make the society better for everyone.
Procession into the Auditorium
The Vice Chancellor,a formally admitted the 93 fresh students distributed into nine 9 academic programs- Biochemistry (7 students), Human Anatomy 63 students, Human Physiology 21 students and Microbiology 2 students.
Procession into the Auditorium by Students
The Vice Chancellor stated that the Bayelsa Medical University was created by the State Government to serve two critical purposes, which are firstly to produce a new generation of highly trained professional clinicians and other medical and health scientists that will adequately address the health needs of Bayelsans, Nigerians and persons in other parts of the world and secondly to address the rising phenomenon of medical tourism engaged by Nigerians to foreign hospitals.
Matriculating Students with the Deputy Vice Chancellor
Prof. Etebu thanked the Bayelsa State Government for locating the Bayelsa Medical University in the premises of the almost abandoned 500-bed hospital which will serve as the University’s Teaching hospital, with its quality physical facilities and modern medical equipment, and also for yielding the world class Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre and the newly built and well equipped Mother and Child Hospital which is located within the premises of the University. According to him, all these facilities will surely enhance effective teaching, learning and research activities in BMU and also help us provide quality healthcare to our people.
Some members of the BMU The Congregation
The Vice Chancellor informed the audience that barely within five months of its establishment specifically on the 31st January 2019, the Bayelsa Medical University was recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as the 48th State University and the 170th University in the Nigerian University System. It is also on record that BMU is the 2nd Public Medical University to be established in Nigeria.
Speaking further, he noted that in September 2019, the NUC approved the establishment of full-time mode of study in the following nine (9) academic programmes for Bayelsa Medical University; Biology, Chemistry, Physics with Electronics, Mathematics, Microbiology, Statistics, Biochemistry, Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. These programmes are precursors to the running of medical and health science professional programmes such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science, Biomedical Engineering, Optometry, Public/Community Health, etc. adding that he is very optimistic of securing NUC approval to run full-time mode of study in the professional medical and health sciences programmes mentioned above before the end of the current Academic Year.
Prof. Etebu used the occasion to congratulate and felicitates with Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, on his recent re-appointment as the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) for the second tenure in office, and Professor Ishaq Olarewaju Oloyede, on his re-appointment as the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Principal Officers
While advising the matriculating students, the Vice Chancellor urged them to realize that their academic dream and future career is in their hands to make a success. He encouraged them to shun all forms of examination malpractice so that their effort at pursuing their dream careers will not be in vain. He further advised them to pursue their studies diligently, choose their new friends wisely, avoid cultism on campus, shun drug abuse in order to stay mentally and emotionally smart at all times, follow the rules and regulations of the university, follow the laid down Covid-19 guidelines and endeavor to maintain a good balance between their academic work, extra-curricular activities, social media and social engagements on and off campus.
He also thanked the Governing Council under the leadership of the erudite Emeritus Professor Nimi Dimkpa Briggs (OON), Pro Chancellor/Chairman of Council ,Management, Senate and staff of the University for steering the ship of academia in the right direction just within two Academic years of the establishment of the university.
He also informed the audience that our internationalization agenda to make BMU a University of repute worldwide is still very much on course as the BMU has entered into academic collaboration with the University of LoiusVille, Kentucky, USA. He also stated BMU has engaged in academic partnership with the University of Debrecen, Hungary and University of Global Health Equity, Kigali, Rwanda, while the university is still in the initial stages of exploring partnerships with Aster DM Healthcare, a healthcare services providers based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the Bayelsa Medical University Teaching Hospital. Locally. He stated that BMU has signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital, the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, the Federal Bio-resources Centre, Odi. According to the Vice Chancellor, all these collaborations and partnerships are intended to give our valued students the quality education they deserve, which will enable them compete favorably in the local and international labor market upon graduation. It will also enable us to provide quality and equitable health care delivery to our people and persons from other parts of the world through the BMU Teaching Hospital.
JAMB State Coordinator
The University has made giant strides in the area of infrastructural development in the preceding two years as it has completed and equipped modern state of the art laboratories for Physics/Electronics, Chemistry, Biology, ICT, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences housing Departments of Human Anatomy, Human Physiology and Medical Biochemistry. He added that 72 new offices are now occupied by the Faculties of Science, Health Sciences, Clinical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dental Sciences and Basic Clinical Sciences while the foundation has been laid for the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences including the component Laboratories. The CBT will soon be ready and will have 250 work stations. Work on the Clinical Skills Laboratory and Virtual Reality Learning Centre has commenced.
In addition, the Institute of Foreign Languages and Bio-Medical Translations (IFL-BT) continues to wax stronger running Certificate and Diploma courses in French, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, German and Russian and adding international Flavour with the presence of foreign students from Gabon.
Prof. P.J. Alagoa, DVC with Dr. Marie Teibowei PRO/Ag.Dir IFL-BT
The ceremony ended with merry making and photo shoot sessions at the beautiful University Parks. Matriculants could be seen agitating for the much-anticipated photo of them wearing for the first time an academic gown.
Let the adventure to begin!!