Ignatius Ajuru University of Education

At the end of the civil war in 1970, the Rivers State Government was faced with an acute shortage of trained teachers for its rapidly expanding programme of post-primary education. In view of this, a committee was appointed by the Ministry of Education to examine the problem and to make necessary recommendations on the establishment of an Advanced Teacher Training College.

The report of the committee stressed the need to invest much energy in the right directions to ensure that the schools in Rivers State did not face the danger of either collapsing or producing students who would be worth nothing on their graduation. After the required spade work by the Ministry of Education, Rivers State College of Education opened in temporary quarters at the Catholic Mission’s Stella Maris College, Port Harcourt on 14 June 1971 with an initial intake of 116 students, under the headship of Dr. William Maxwell Jnr., a USAID representative then serving in the State.

In January 1972, the college moved to another temporary site at Oromineke in D-Line, Diobu. A new Principal, the late J.E. Ohochukwu, was also appointed in October 1972. From its foundation, the college had an uphill task to contend with the dearth of few academic staff. Lack of adequate library facilities and shortage of accommodation constituted serious problems. Many of the initial handicaps proved temporary and considerable progress began to be noticed in due course.

Until the promulgation of the Nursery and Miscellaneous Education Institution Edict No. 10 of 15 November 1974, Rivers State College of Education was under the direct control of the Ministry of Education. This Edict established the college as a corporate body under the management of a Governing Committee, headed by W.E. Alagoa, the then Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission. In terms of Administrative Management and Growth, Edict No. 10 of 1974 did not satisfy the needs of Rivers State College of Education, hence the promulgation of Edict No. 1 of 25 February 1975. The new edict marked a turning point in the history of the institution.

Rivers State College of Education was born as an autonomous body. With the attainment of full maturity, it became well placed to play a more dynamic role. There was established for the purposes of the college a Governing Council which is responsible for the recruitment of staff and for the general and overall administrative and financial control of the institution. Following this transformation, E. Aguma, who was appointed Principal in January 1975, became the first Provost while Dr. E.T. Green succeeded Alagoa as the Chairman of Council in June 1975. After an interregnum created by the change of Government in the country in July 1975, a new Governing Council with Dr. F.A. Eke, as Chairman, and a new Provost, R.I.C. Koko, were appointed that November. The problem of accommodation greatly inhibited the progress of the college.

For almost six years of its existence, Rivers State College of Education occupied a compound with very limited number of classrooms and all students lived off-campus. The college moved to its permanent site at Rumuolumeni in January,1977 although some essential facilities were still lacking on the campus. This bold step was a definite milestone in the life of the institution, because physical presence on the spot has placed it in a better position to make further plans for its continued growth and improvement of existing facilities.

A unique event in the history of the college took place on 11 March 1978 on the occasion of its official opening and first graduation ceremony. Four sets of students totaling 462 in number received their diplomas on the successful completion of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programme. The graduands were made up of those who passed their examinations between 1974 and 1977. A great landmark in the history of the institution, this successful graduation ceremony was an eloquent testimony of the tireless labor of both the college community and the Rivers State Government in the bold bid to produce well-trained non-graduate teachers for post-primary institutions.

With effect from January 1977, the Ministry of Education made available two top model primary schools in Port Harcourt – the Port Harcourt Primary School and the Sea Shell Model Primary School – which now form part of the college. These schools provide some scope for practice teaching and research in primary education. The two schools were put under the administration of Rivers State College of Education in 1977 by the Ministry of Education. Hitherto they were managed by the College of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt.

Another important development in the 1977/78 session was the establishment of a Primary Education Department which offered a three-year NCE course open only to serving Grade II practicing teachers. It was designed to enhance effective teaching in both primary schools and Grade II Teachers Colleges, and supervisory work in our primary schools. The formal launching ceremony of the programme was held on 9 June 1978, when 200 pioneer students matriculated. The department was run under the sponsorship of the UNESCO. This programme is now open to all (that is, even those candidates who are not teachers as long as they have the entry requirements).

By 1980, following the government's proclamation of its intention to run degree programmes in educational fields through colleges of education, the Rivers State Government decided to sponsor the programme in order to increase the number of teachers in the State. Prof. G.O.M. Tasie was appointed provost of the college and was expected to upgrade the college to a degree-awarding institution. He assumed duty on 21 August 1980, being the date R.I.C. Koko, former provost of the college, handed over to him. During this period, Chief A.B. Batubo was the Chairman of the Governing Council of the college. Following this appointment, the 1981/82 academic year witnessed the actual admission of candidates for degree programmes in Rivers State College of Education.

On 28 May 1982, the college happily matriculated the pioneer students of the degree programme. By the end of the 1983/84 academic session, a total of 3,169 students had successfully passed through the various programmes of the college. Out of this figure, 2,504 went through the NCE Programme, 531 passed through the ACE programme and 134 in the B. Ed. programme. It is noteworthy that, of all the Colleges of Education affiliated to the University of Ibadan, Rivers State College of Education was the only one offering the Bachelor of Education degree programme. Other achievements of the college between 1982 and 1984 were:

• the creation of some new academic departments: Secretarial Studies, Integrated Science and Social Studies
• the construction of three science laboratories for Physics, Chemistry and Biology in 1983
• the construction of staff office accommodation in December 1983

On 1 September 1984, Professor G.O.M. Tasie was re-appointed Provost by the Rivers State Military Governor. Within this period, Prof. D.M.J. Fubara was the Chairman of the Governing Council of the college. From 1984 to 1987, it was observed that Rivers State College of Education made giant strides in the improvement of its structures, facilities, funding and conditions of service, particularly by providing the Visual Arts Laboratory building and by the construction of twin standard-size lawn tennis courts. From 1984 to 88, the college management dealt with a lot of problems, including:

• The certificates of occupancy for two campuses, viz. Ndele and St. John’s Diobu campuses, were collected.
• The fight for the adoption of the University Salary Structure (USS) in the college was begun.
• The Council enacted an effective statute on financial regulations of the college.

In January, 1988, the Military Governor of Rivers State approved the appointment of Professor S.F. Amakiri as provost of the college. In May of the same year, Prof. Isaac Dema was appointed to head the Governing Council. From 1988 to 1991 Rivers State College of Education achieved much, and some of its dreams were realised. In terms of structural achievement, six additional classroom block extensions and a one-room Audiovisual Centre at the Education block were constructed. A staff office block project and a language laboratory were completed, and hostels, staff quarters and some buildings of Port Harcourt Primary School and Sea Shell Model Primary School were renovated. St. John’s Diobu campus, which used to be so porous that it was the den of thieves was fenced and the hind edge of Rumuolumeni campus which is near the swamps was also fenced.

In addition, the college has been enjoying the University Salary Structure (USS). Rivers State College of Education was the first College of Education that started the scheme. The decision to convert Rivers State College of Education into a university was taken in 2009 by the Rivers State Government in furtherance of its desire to provide opportunities for high quality education for citizens of the State. Given that the college had for a long time been awarding degrees in affiliation with the University of Ibadan, the transition from a college of education to a university should be easy for the institution. Further to this notion is the fact that many graduates of the defunct Rivers State College of Education have been yearning to improve their academic qualifications through the acquisition of university degrees, preferably within an environment they are used to. Given the reasonably favourable financial situation of Rivers State, the Government considered it expedient to establish the second State Government-owned university.

Ignatius Ajuru University of Education was established by the University of Education Law No. 8 of 2009 of the Rivers State Government passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly on 15 October 2009 and assented to by His Excellency, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, the Executive Governor of Rivers State on 20 October 2009.[4]

In 2016, the institution started offering post graduate courses.

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Business Studies
• Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences
• Faculty of Vocational and Technical Education

The Following are programmes offered in Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Postgraduate School

FACULTY OF BUSINESS STUDIES

Department of Accounting (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Financial Accounting
• Public Finance
• Taxation

Department of Management (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Entrepreneurship Studies
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial Relations
• Organizational Behaviour
• Production Management

Department of Marketing (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Marketing

Department of Office and Information Management (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Office and Information Management

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of Curriculum Studies and Instructional Technology (MEd, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Adult Education
• Curriculum Studies
• Educational Technology
• Language Education
• Science Education

Department of Educational Foundations (MEd, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• History and Policy of Education
• Philosophy of Education
• Sociology of Education

Department of Educational Management (MEd, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Administration of Higher Education
• Economics of Education
• Educational Administration
• Educational Leadership and Policy
• Educational Planning

Department of Primary Education Studies (MEd, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Early Childhood Education
• Primary Education

Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling (MEd, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Educational Psychology
• Guidance and Counselling
• Measurement and Evaluation
• Special Education

Department of Library and Communication Art (PGDL, MLS, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Library and Information Science

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

Department of English and Communication Art (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Communication
• Language
• Literature

Department of Fine and Applied Arts (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Art Education
• Art History
• Ceramics and Textile Design
• Graphic Design and Art Education
• Metal Design
• Painting
• Sculpture

Department of French and International Studies (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• African Literature
• French Language/Linguistics
• French Literature
• Translation Studies

Department of Religious and Cultural Studies (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• African Traditional Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Church History
• Comparative Religion
• Sociology of Religion

Department of History and Diplomatic Studies (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• African History
• Diplomacy and International Relations
• History and International Relations
• Political and Social History

Department of Music (PGD, MA, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• African Music
• Conducting and Music Directing
• Music Performance
• Theory and Composition

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

Department of Biology (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Entomology and Pest Management
• Environmental Biology
• Environmental Parasitology
• Food and Industrial Microbiology
• Hydrobiology and Fisheries
• Plant Ecology
• Plant Physiology

Department of Chemistry (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Chemistry

Department of Computer Science (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Computer Science
• Information Technology

Department of Human Kinetics, Health and Safety Studies (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Community Health
• Exercise Physiology
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Rehabilitation Therapy
• Reproductive Health
• Sports Administration and Marketing
• Sports Management
• Sports Medicine
• Sociology of Sports

Department of Integrated Science (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Basic and Environmental Science
• Basic Interpretations

Department of Mathematics and Statistics (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Mathematics
• Statistics

Department of Physics (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Applied Geophysics
• Environmental and Radiation Physics
• Solid State Physics/Electronics
• Theoretical Physics

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Department of Economics (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Developmental Economics/Planning
• Environmental Economics
• International Economics
• Monetary Economics

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Environmental Management
• Geomorphology
• Regional Development Planning
• Rural Development and Resource Management

Department of Sociology (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Criminology and Security Studies
• Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Sociology of Development
• Social Works and Social Welfare Administration

Department of Political Science (PGD, MSc, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Developmental Studies
• International Relations
• Local Government Administration
• Politics and Governance
• Political Theory
• Public Administration

FACULTY OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (PGD, MSc, MSc.Ed, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

Department of Agriculture

• Agricultural Economics
• Agricultural Education
• Agricultural Extension
• Agronomy
• Animal Production
• Crop Science
• Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Soil Science

Department of Home Economics and Hospitality Management (PGD, MSc, MSc.Ed Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Clothing and Textile
• Food and Nutrition
• Home Management
• Human and Family Development

Department of Industrial Technical Education (PGD, MSc, MSc.Ed, Mphil/PhD and PhD)

• Automobile Technology
• Building Technology
• Electrical/Electronics Technology
• Mechanical Technology[5]