The Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, Bauchi State, has called on the Federal Government to provide a perimeter fence for the institution over security concerns.
The vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Bala Audu, made the appeal during the institution’s maiden convocation ceremony held on Saturday.
Audu said the university remained vulnerable to security threats because of the absence of a perimeter fence, urging the government to intervene to protect students and staff.
He said, “Among our major challenges are security concerns, especially as the entire university remains porous due to lack of a perimeter fence. We therefore seek intervention to secure the university as a safer place for our students.”
The vice-chancellor also called for urgent intervention to provide more lecture halls, teaching laboratories and on-campus hostels to accommodate the growing student population and expanding academic programmes.
He identified the construction of the faculties of Allied Health Sciences, Clinical Sciences and Basic Medical Sciences, alongside a modern library and Senate building, as other pressing needs of the institution.
Despite the challenges, Audu said the university had recorded significant growth since its establishment in October 2022.
He disclosed that the institution’s workforce had increased from 239 to 892, while student enrolment had risen from 706 to more than 6,000, with female students accounting for 64 per cent of the population.
According to him, the university has students from all states of the federation, with students from more than 50 per cent of local government areas nationwide.
He added that the institution had expanded its undergraduate programmes from five to 22, while five postgraduate programmes were in the pipeline.
The vice-chancellor described the graduation of 50 students from the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics as a historic milestone, noting that three of the graduands obtained first-class degrees.
He explained that the pioneer graduates completed the four-year Basic Minimum Academic Standards curriculum, which he said provided adequate training and practical skills.
Audu said the students had developed more than 34 value-added nutritional products with commercial potential, adding that one of the graduands had won a national Nutrition Research and Innovation Challenge organised by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria.
He called for a review of the extension of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme from four to five years under the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards.
He said, “We have proof of concept that this four-year Nutrition Programme and, indeed, other specialised programmes of similar duration are adequate. There is therefore no need to extend them beyond four years.”
Audu said the university was also strengthening its research capacity through academic collaborations, research incentives and policies designed to promote excellence and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
He listed the University of Miami, Boston University and Universiti Sains Malaysia among the institution’s international partners, while collaborations with Nigerian universities, teaching hospitals and state health ministries were supporting academic development and clinical training.
The vice-chancellor added that the university was seeking approval from the National Universities Commission to introduce additional undergraduate programmes, including Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Computer Science, Data Science, Medicinal Chemistry and Medical Physics.
He disclosed that the university had also approached the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for support to establish a centre of excellence for gynaecological cancer.
Audu commended the North-East Development Commission for supporting the establishment of an Institute of Maternal and Child Health, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality in the region and the country.
President Bola Tinubu, who was represented at the ceremony by the executive secretary of TETFund, Sunny Echono, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting students and university communities.
Tinubu said the government was strengthening security in educational institutions through the Safe School Initiative and other measures to protect students, teachers and academic communities.
He said, “A secure and conducive learning environment is therefore not merely a security imperative; it is fundamental to educational excellence, human capital development and the sustainable development of our nation.”
The President also disclosed that 1,798 students of the university had secured support from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund for the 2025/2026 academic session.
He said the beneficiaries represented 43 per cent of the university’s student population, describing the intervention as an important step towards expanding access to higher education.
Tinubu further said the Federal Government had introduced reforms to strengthen university autonomy, including removing the requirement for universities to obtain recruitment waivers from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
He added that the government had taken steps to remove universities from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System to improve institutional efficiency and accommodate the peculiarities of the university system.
The President commended the university’s local and international partnerships, urging its management to translate the collaborations into measurable improvements in teaching, research, innovation and healthcare delivery.
Tinubu, while congratulating the 50 pioneer graduands, urged them to contribute to the development of the university and the advancement of healthcare in Nigeria.