By Onyekachi Agu, Ruth Ani, Faith Iroh and Hope Ali

Enugu – The Vice-Chancellor, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie has disclosed that the Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (IPCDS) was primarily established for social re-orientation and re-engineering and not necessarily to award certificates.

 The Vice-Chancellor stated this on Friday during the Induction/Orientation programme for the 2025/2026 students of the Institute held at the ESUT Business School, Enugu

Addressing the students, Prof Okolie commended them for chosen ESUT for their Postgraduate programme in Peace, Conflict and Development. While describing the Institute as the heart of unity in not just in South-East but in the country, the Vice-Chancellor noted that the essence of the Institute is to ensure peaceful co-existence among people adding that peace is at the basis of everything in human interaction.

“Let me welcome you to the Institute of Peace, Conflict and Development Studies, ESUT. We commend you for chosen ESUT for your postgraduate programme, in this discipline. Let me also remind you that the Institute was established primarily for social re-orientation and re-engineering. The essence of the Institute is to promote and sustain peace for social cohesion.

“The certificate you seek to acquire is necessary but it will be meaningless if you do not apply the knowledge for which the certificate is awarded to you. In ESUT PG Programmes, we do not accommodate overstayed students. Once you are due for graduation and we noticed that you have not graduated, we will kick you out of the programme.

“When I assumed office, I noticed that we had a huge number of overstayed students in our PG programme and we wrote them a letter and terminated their contract with the university. You therefore owe it a duty to ensure that you graduated when you are supposed to. The watchword here is discipline. Let me also remind you that you didn’t come here to pursue certificate, you came here to acquire knowledge and both the Institute and the University management are ready to help you with your corporation”, he said.

Earlier in his address, Director of the Institute, Prof Gerald Ezirim, congratulated the new students and charged them to be studious and diligent in their works. He informed them that lectures are conducted in hybrid form comprising physical and virtual classes but warned that failure to meet up with 75% attendance requirement, would disqualify them from writing their exams

“I want to first congratulate you on gaining admission into the Institute. As you begin this new journey in your academic career, I want to assure you that you are in the right place with the right people to help you navigate the journey.

“Here we operate hybrid lectures, lectures are conducted both physically and virtually. Therefore, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you must be physically present in all lectures. However, the law in the university is that every student must attend lectures at least 75% or be disqualified from taking examination,” he said.

The Director further announced that as part of policies to make the Institute visible, the Board would soon establish a journal to be solely published by the students and lecturers in the Institute and encouraged them to ensure that they published at least one article before their graduation.

“We are planning to launch the Institute journal soon and it will belong to you. Publication of at least an article is a prerequisite for your award of certificate here.”

During his speech, the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, ESUT, Prof Charles Chime, who was represented by the Associate Dean, Dr Dorathy Abonyi, took time to explain to the students how the Postgraduate Programme works. He warned them against contracting their Dissertation or Thesis to vendors and stressing that the university frowns at fabricated projects.

“I want to congratulate you on your admission into the Institute. One reality here is that all of you were offered admission the same year but you will all not graduate the same time. PG programme is not undergraduate programme where you are expected to graduate with your set. A lot of factors could cause this and I will dwell on the ones that could affect you if not properly checked. First and foremost, you are expected to fill and submit your forms on time. Ensure you pay your school fees and all other required sundry fees as and when due.

“We understand that many PG students contract their Dissertation or Thesis to road-side vendors. But we have a mechanism to checkmate them. Once you are caught, you will be punished. It profits much when you are the author of your Dissertation or Thesis and that is why your supervisors are here to guide you to ensure that you did everything right.

“We are in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The PG School is not against the application of AI in your research works but do not allow AI to reason and write for you. Make AI your assistant not you master,” he warned.

Students interviewed expressed gratitude to the management of the university and thanked the VC for gracing the event and promised to abide by the rules governing the Institute.

The IPCDS was founded in the 1990s by Professor Osy Okanya, then Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and related disciplines. It was in 2016 that the Institute was strengthened and the vision for the establishment of Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (IPCDS) was conceived.