By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Management of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology,Wudil,Kano State, has introduced skills acquisition into the institution’s activities as part of measures to make its students self reliant.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof.Musa Yakasai,disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Wudil on Wednesday.
Yakasai said that the students were being trained on tailoring, hair dressing, soap making, room freshners and welding,among others.
He said that the programme was aimed at equipping students with multiple entrepreneurial skills while undergoing their normal academic programmes.
The vice chancellor explained that the programme would help the students to understand the theoretical concepts they learned in the textbooks, “their real-life applications, life advancement opportunities, as well as career equipping and preparatory knowledge for the future.”
He said the university’s management under his stewardship had also created an avenue for engaging students on small menial job opportunities on the campus to support their financial demands.
He also disclosed that the institution had embarked on total renovation of its Female Hostels aimed at ensuring a healthy and decent accommodation for the students
“We have renovated all the toilet facilities in the hostels,and have decongested the rooms by providing more buildings which have been renovated and converted to hostel accommodation
“We make sure that each room of the female hostels contains only six students so that they will have a conducive atmosphere for learning.
“We have also provided a 91-litre capacity water reservoir,incase of electricity failure in the female hostels,” Yakasai said.
He also said that state-of-the-art facilities had been provided in the university’s modern Library to enhance effective learning.
He also disclosed that modern solar electricity lightening had been provided in all parts of the university’s campus to ensure the security and safety of both the staff and students.
The vice chancellor noted that his administration had introduced additional measures for internal revenue generation drive,in addition to students’ registration fees.
” We are also planning to make use of 17 acres of land for irrigation and mechanized farming,which will enhance our revenue generation drive.
“We have also formed a consultancy services unit, which will be used for offering consultancy services to the general public,and at the same time generating revenue for the institution,”he said.