UNN to Graduate 12,895 Students, 168 With First Class Honours
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, is preparing to graduate 12,895 students at its 55th Convocation Ceremony, with 168 of them finishing with First Class honours. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, announced the figure on Wednesday during a press briefing held ahead of the convocation activities. For thousands of students and families, the ceremony will close one long chapter and open another. Years of lectures, tests, projects, research, delays, pressure and hard work will finally end with degrees in hand.
Ortuanya said 10,641 graduands will receive first degrees and diplomas. He also said 2,944 students will receive postgraduate qualifications. That group includes 1,390 PhD graduates, 1,340 Master's degree graduates and 214 students who will receive Postgraduate Diplomas. He described the event as a celebration of a large group of students who had completed their studies. The 168 First Class graduates will stand among the strongest academic performers in the graduating set, while thousands of others will also leave the university with different degrees and qualifications earned after years of study.
The convocation will also honour people outside the graduating class. UNN will award honorary doctorate degrees to Nigeria's First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu; High Chief Williams Agbo; Arc. Dr Kaycee Kelechi Orji; and Dr William Franklyn Richardson. Two retired academics, Prof. Peter-Jazzy Ezeh and Prof. Boniface Obinna Okere, will also receive the title of Professor Emeritus. The honours form part of the wider convocation programme and will recognise people the university has chosen for special distinction.
The convocation lecture will hold on Thursday, July 23. Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, will deliver the lecture, while Prof. Ositadinma Nebo will chair the event. Nebo is a former Vice-Chancellor of UNN and is now the Vice-Chancellor of the University on the Niger. The lecture will form one of the main events around the 55th Convocation Ceremony as the university gathers students, staff, alumni, guests and other members of its community.
Ortuanya also used the briefing to speak about what his administration has done since he took office in August 2025. One major change is in Medicine and Dentistry. He said the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria approved an increase in UNN's admission quota after accreditation. The quota for Medicine rose from 180 students to 400, while Dentistry moved from 15 students to 60. The increase gives the university room to train far more students in both areas than before.
Changes have also taken place in other academic programmes. According to the Vice-Chancellor, the National Universities Commission approved the restructuring of the Department of Mass Communication into five separate specialised degree programmes. Agribusiness, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Industrial Arts, and Criminology and Security Studies also received full accreditation. These approvals mean the university can continue running the programmes under the required standards while also giving students more clear areas of study.
UNN has also made changes to its learning and research facilities. Ortuanya said the university's Central Library has been digitalised, giving students and researchers stronger access to digital learning tools and materials. The university has also opened a Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Laboratory. The new laboratory is expected to support research and learning in two areas that are becoming more important across the world. For UNN, the move is part of a wider effort to keep teaching and research connected to modern technology.
Work is also going on across the university's physical facilities. Ortuanya listed road reconstruction, hostel repairs and new projects at the College of Medicine in Ituku-Ozalla. Renovation is currently taking place at Eni-Njoku, Eyo-Ita, Nkrumah and Odili hostels. Construction has also started again on Zik's Flats and the Senate Building after both projects had earlier stalled. These are basic things students and staff see every day; roads, hostels, offices and teaching spaces can shape how people live and work on campus, so the university says it is trying to fix weak areas while building new ones.
Staff promotion has also been a major part of the administration's work. Ortuanya said 1,984 members of staff were promoted within the last 11 months. Among them were 25 academics who became full professors. The university has also expanded its links with institutions outside Nigeria. It now has partnerships with institutions in Sweden, Taiwan, China, Belarus, the United States and South Africa. These agreements cover research work, staff exchange and academic development. The aim is to give UNN staff and researchers more room to work with people outside the country and take part in wider academic projects.
For Ortuanya, all these moves connect to one goal: making the University of Nigeria stronger at home and more respected across the world. He said the university wants to improve teaching, research, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and community work. He also called on alumni, development partners and other stakeholders to support that growth. The message from the Vice-Chancellor was direct. UNN wants to compete at a higher level, and it believes strong programmes, better facilities, stronger research, staff development and international partnerships can help it get there.
The 55th Convocation will therefore be more than a day of gowns, photographs and certificates. For the 12,895 graduands, it will mark the end of a demanding academic journey. For the university, it will also be a moment to show what has changed and what is still being built. From the 168 First Class graduates to new research facilities, higher admission quotas, staff promotions and ongoing construction, UNN is using the ceremony to celebrate its students while also pointing to the direction it wants to follow next.