The students and ex-students of the Katsina Institute of Technology and Management (KSITM) have lauded Gov. Dikko Radda for converting the institution to a fully-fledged university.
The jubilant students, who held a rally in Katsina on Monday to show their excitement and joy, called for the renaming of the university to Malam Dikko Ummaru Radda University of Technology.
The state government recently announced the conversion of the institute into a fully-fledged Information Communication Technology (ICT) University.
In a speech, the Students Union Government President, Mr Mustapha Kafin-Soli, said that the students were highly excited over the development.
According to Kafin-Soli, the conversion of the institution was a great development for the state, especially for students, who have completed or are about to complete their diploma programmes.
“This development will give us the opportunity to go beyond diploma in our chosen professions to degree holders from our own state university.
“Therefore, when the university kicks off, we are hoping and praying that we can be considered for admission through direct entry and not for us to start from 100 level,” Kafin-Soli said.
He opined that some students that graduated from the school were experiencing challenges in securing direct entry admission in other higher institutions.
“That’s why the current and ex-students see the need to organise this kind of rally to express their excitement for the conversion of the institution to a university.
“At the same time, we want the State Government to rename the new university after Malam Dikko Ummaru Radda,” Kafin-Soli said.
One of the diploma graduates from the school, Najib El-Ladan, also said that he was deeply happy over the development and expressed the hope to achieve his dream.
“As someone who studied Banking Operations at the Diploma level from this institution, I don’t think there’s any nearby higher institution I can go for the same course at the higher level.
“But with the conversation of this institution to a university, I have hope to come back for my choice at the degree level,” El-Ladan said.
Recall that the Commissioner for Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, Prof. Abdulhamid Ahmed-Mani, recently said that the institute was a diploma-awarding institution, but the governor wanted to make it one of the best ICT universities in the world.
Ahmed-Mani further pointed out that the decision was taken out of the governor’s blueprint to establish an ICT hub in Katsina.