Clifford University, a private university owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, is offering 15 degree programmes as it opens its gates to students from Thursday, January 26, 2017.

Pioneer Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Allwell Chimezie Omeonu, told newsmen at the Ihie Isiala Ngwa North location of the university that the National Universities Commission (NUC) approved three Faculties and 10 Departments and 15 degree courses for its take-off.

Clifford University, which has no provision for off-campus students, was granted licence late last year. Admission of pioneer students starts Thursday, Omeonu said.

The Faculties are School of Humanities comprising Department of Languages and Literary studies; Department of History and International Studies, Department of Religious Studies; School of Management and Social Sciences with Departments of Business Administration, Economics and Political Science as well as School of Science consisting of Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Computer Science and Mathematics, and Physics.

Apart from the courses, Omeonu said that emphasis would be equally laid on entrepreneurial studies to make their products self-reliant on graduation.

He said: “We will ensure that all our students must have entrepreneurial studies as part of the course they will study, irrespective of the main course of study which they must commence from day one till they pass out.

“At the end of their course, they will be evaluated and their proposal looked into if they have a good one, we will approach banks for loans for the take-off of their businesses.

“The university is ready to ensure that all our graduates will be self-dependent at the end of their education, in line with the federal government’s directive that graduates will no longer be those who will be roaming about the streets at the end of their education looking for jobs when they should be employers of labour.

“We intend also to tap into the special skills that are abound in Aba which is very close to us, by organising workshops for the artisans who do not have education but are ready to learn more to enhance their productivity.”

The VC said the university’s school fees has been pegged at about N200,000 per semester, adding that arrangements were in place for indigent students to pay by three installments.

He said that Seventh Day Adventists Church places high premium on education which informed fixing the fees at about N200,000.

“Our fees are not only affordable but we have made it possible for indigent students to have an arrangement whereby they can pay their fees in two or three installments, as we do not want to place heavy load on our students,” he stated.

The VC explained that the university would not discriminate in its admission policy but would admit only those qualified for admission in line with laid down standards for Nigerian universities.

“Our admission policy is very clear as we admit those who are academically qualified irrespective of their religious inclination, tribe and gender but those who will be admitted must be ready to abide by the laid down rules of the university.

“The university is purely residential as we do not entertain off-campus since we have good living environment with adequate security network, with a dress code for all our students.

“We intend to train people who will be responsible and appear in public as those who have passed through a university of our type,” the VC said.

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