By Khalid Idris Doya
Sa'adu Zungur University (SAZU), Bauchi State, is set to graduate a total of 12,256 students across three academic sessions, covering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes from the 9 faculties of the institution.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Fatimah Tahir, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference ahead of the university's 8th, 9th and 10th combined convocation ceremony.
She said the convocation, which is the institution's second combined convocation, is scheduled to hold from Friday, March 27 to Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the university's main campus in Gadau.
According to her, out of the total number, 11,813 are undergraduate graduands, comprising 8,387 (71%) males and 3,426 (29%) females students.
She gave a breakdown of academic performance that 216 students (1.83%) graduated with First Class honours, 3,438 (29.10%) with Second Class Upper Division, 5,563 (47.09%) with Second Class Lower Division, 2,353 (19.92%) with Third Class, while 243 (2.06%) obtained Pass degrees.
She added that the figure includes 10,702 regular students and 1,111 part-time students.
At the postgraduate level, the university produced 443 graduands, including 25 PhDs, 145 Academic Masters, 241 Professional Masters, and 32 Postgraduate Diplomas.
Of this number of postgraduate students 4 (0.90%) earned Distinction, nine (2.03%) obtained Merit, 42 (9.48%) recorded Credit, while 388 (87.58%) graduated with Pass.
While giving an analysis of postgraduate graduands, she said "At the postgraduate level, the University produced a total of 443 graduands across 5 faculties, 13 departments, and 38 programmes within the three (3) sessions.
"This includes: 25 (5.64%) PhDs; 145 (32.73%) Academic Masters; 241 (54.40%) Professional Masters, and 32 (7.22%) Postgraduate Diplomas."
Prof. Tahir further revealed that the 2023/2024 academic session recorded the highest number of graduands with 5,240 (44.5%), followed by 2022/2023 with 4,064 (34.5%), and 2024/2025 with 2,509 (21.0%).
Similarly, the 2023/2024 session had the highest number of postgraduate graduates, with 182.
Highlighting activities lined up for the convocation, the Vice-Chancellor said a convocation lecture will be held on Friday, to be delivered by Emeritus Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo, former Vice-Chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.
The lecture, titled "Education, Security and Sustainable Development: The Role of Universities in Northern Nigeria," will be chaired by Arc. Abdu Sule Katagum, former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State. This will be followed by the Chancellor's Night.
She added that the grand finale, the convocation ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the University Stadium, where degrees will be formally conferred on deserving graduands.
Prof. Tahir described the convocation as a significant milestone for the students, their families, and the university community, noting that it also provides an opportunity to celebrate academic achievements and reaffirm the institution's commitment to excellence and societal development.
She noted that Sa'adu Zungur University, formerly Bauchi State University (BASUG), was established in 2011 and commenced academic activities in 2012, adding that the institution has continued to grow in academic programmes, infrastructure, research, and community service.
CW reports that, as part of convocation traditions, universities usually confer honorary awards on individuals who have made significant contributions to the institution, society, or national development.
However, Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU) will not confer any honorary awards during its second combined convocation ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor Fatimah Tahir explained that the National Universities Commission (NUC) recently introduced new guidelines and categories for honorary awards to individuals.
She noted that due to time constraints, the university management was unable to select recipients best on new guidelines.
Consequently, she stated that no individuals will be honoured at this second convocation ceremony of the university.
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