Joseph Tarka Varsity Secures NUC Nod For 5 New Programmes

The Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM) has secured approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence five new academic programmes beginning from the 2025/2026 academic session.

Vice chancellor of the University, Prof. Isaac Nathaniel Itodo, announced this at the 139th meeting of the Governing Council held on August 22, 2025.

He described the approval as “a milestone that will further strengthen the University’s relevance in a rapidly evolving knowledge-driven economy.”

According to him, the approved programmes include Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Chemistry, Library and Information Science, and Telecommunication Engineering.

Prof. Itodo said the fresh additions were carefully chosen to align with global trends and national manpower needs. “The commencement of these ‘choice’ programmes will boost the demand for JOSTUM by prospective admission seekers, ensure that the University remains relevant in the evolving knowledge-based economy, and position the University for global competitiveness,” he said.

He appealed to members of Council to rally behind management in equipping the programmes adequately. “Council is invited to support the management of the University to provide the required physical and academic infrastructures for these programmes. With your continued commitment, JOSTUM will sustain its trajectory of growth and excellence,” he noted.

The vice chancellor also stated other developments across the institution, pointing out that the academic calendar was on track. “The second semester of the 2024/2025 academic session is progressing well as lectures are ongoing. Hopefully, the session will be concluded by early October, 2025.”

He further noted challenges with the University’s solar hybrid plant due to cloudy weather conditions, which he said had forced partial reliance on diesel generators.

“This has necessitated the use of diesel-powered generators at some critical hours such as the pumping of water to the students’ hostels and staff quarters, thus increasing the cost of operation. Hopefully, the clearness index of the atmosphere will improve in the coming months,” he added.

Speaking on international collaboration, Prof. Itodo reported that JOSTUM had recently hosted Professor Eduard Capillo-Funollet, a Mathematical Epidemiologist from Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

“He taught postgraduate students in the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics for a week and will return later this month to collaborate with other departments. We look forward to many more of such collaborations to give our students and staff doses of international academic flavour,” he explained.

He also celebrated the recognition of a member of the University’s Governing Council, Professor Matthew Adamu, who was recently appointed Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja.