The Vice Chancellor of the Delta State University, Abraka, Professor Andy Egwunyenga, has decried the significant drop of the institution in a recent ranking of Universities in the country.
Among state universities, DELSU dropped from the 3rd position to the 15th position, and was placed in the 52nd position from the 28th position among all federal and state universities.
Professor Egwunyenga, who spoke to newsmen in his country home at Atuma Iga, Oshimili north local government area of Delta state, blamed the development on the institution’s ignorance of the competitiveness of the university system, which caused major academic standard enhancement parameters to be taken for granted.
He said it was unrealistic to think that things would remain the same in DELSU which was the only university in the state in 1992, now that there were eight universities, stressing that the competition played up by the increase in the number of universities had made investment in key areas imperative.
They include staff welfare, provision of working tools for effective teaching and learning, expansion of facilities, Information and Communication Technology, research and publications, which he promised to prioritize in order to make DELSU a leading state university in the country within the next two years.
The Vice Chancellor said the maiden Senate meeting of the university under his watch had taken place where he rolled out his vision for the institution, pointing out that a Strategic Planning Committee had been set up to work on the blueprint and prepare a Five Year Development Plan for the university.
Professor Egwunyenga said DELSU’s Senate looked into the cases of over 2000 Post Graduate and final year Undergraduate students who could not graduate due to some challenges, including administrative lapses, and restored their studentship with one year window for Post Graduate students and one month for Undergraduates to enable them graduate and pursue their careers.
He said he would want to leave behind a technologically driven Delta State University that would rank among the top ten in the country.
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