By Joy Alinta and Millicent Damian

ESUT College of Medicine (ESUCOM) 44th matriculation ceremony was held on the 21st of February 2025 at Prof Julius Onah Auditorium. This matriculation started with a procession of the Deans of all the four faculties, the members of the management board and the matriculating students.

ESUT College of Medicine consists of 4 faculties which includes; Clinical Medicine, Basic Medical Sciences, Basic Clinical Sciences and Faculty of Health and Allied Sciences.

The matriculating students were welcomed by an address of the Vice Chancellor of ESUT bu the Provost of the College, Prof Uchenna Ekwochi. They were voluntarily made to undergo an oat of commitment and loyalty to the school in the presence of the Provost, Deans, members of the management board of the college and their parents/guardians.

The Dean of faculty of Clinical Medicine, Prof. Umezurike Okafor gave an overview of the matriculation ceremony and highlighted many other things concerning the University to the matriculating students providing insights to why the University is notable, focusing on the academic reputation, programmes, achievements and impact on the society.

According to Prof. Ozor Ignatius, Dean, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, he said that matriculation is an official process of admitting students into the University community which makes them legitimate students and that it is wonderful that it is a decentralized programme and the 2nd time the University is doing it. He noted that it’s been very significant and yielding fruits because it gives an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with students and their  parents which has brought about massive turnup of students and parents.

The Dean of faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, Dr Sylvester Nweze, said the matriculation is one of the very best because there was an interface between the parents and members of the management team which brought about questions and answers, where parents aired their views and were replied back to and students were given opportunities to give their experiences so far about the school. He also said that the decentralized system of matriculating will be more effective. It is not like a sheep without shepherd where people enter into the field without knowing the students that are matriculating and those who are not . He encouraged the fresh students to study hard and be very mindful of their mode of dressing and avoid any form of malpractice.

A parent of a matriculating student  Dr. Ani Malaki who also aired his view about the matriculation said that his expectations as a parent is the same expectations of every responsible parent which is the goal of the students and that goal is to graduate with flying colors and be useful to his or herself and the society at large. He added that the University already has facilities and resources but he expects that school apply those resources judiciously.

     A matriculating student, Favour Ugwuanyi from the Department of Human Anatomy said that coming to ESUT has not really been easy but she is grateful to be called a student of the University. She also complained about some challenges she has been facing since she became a student which are epileptic light, network issues and hut weather. She mentioned that her academic goals is to maintain a very good CGPA till she graduates from the school.

The matriculation was well arranged and a successful ceremony. The ceremony concluded with a sense of excitement and anticipation, as the new students embark on their academic journeys, ready to make their mark at Enugu State University of Science and Technology.