The University Institute of the Diocese of Buea, UIDB, was launched Friday, October 8, with 287 students and four faculties.The launching marked the end of the Foundation Week of the institute, which started on October 4.
The pioneer President of UIDB, Rev. Fr. George Nkeze Jingwa said, the Ministerial decision issued by Higher Education Minister, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, authorising the Institute also placed the University of Buea as its official mentor. The University Institute kicks off with the schools of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engineering, Information Technology and Management Sciences. The decision further approved the running of four HND programmes in Engineering and Technology, Business, Finance and Management.
Fr. Nkeze pointed out that the aim of the newly created Institute said the prime call of training professional servant leaders with moral and spiritual values, to enable them be responsible to their communities. This, he outlined will be through “Holistic Education “which embodies four “integrating dimensions” to shape the minds and hearts of the faculty, staff and students .These four cardinal integrations are; Integration of Virtue and Reason, Integration of Faith and Reason, Integration of Faith and Work and Integrating Business and Society.
Making UIDB A Veritable Academic Haven
Meanwhile, addressing a mammoth crowd that converged at the Catholic Hall, Molyko for the occasion, the Chancellor and Founder of UIDB, Mgr Immanuel Balanjo Bushu, called on parents, guardians, staff and students to make the institution a veritable haven for academic and professional excellence.
In outlining the prime role of the Catholic Church in education, Mgr Bushu said “wherever there is a church, her first task is to teach.” He said the Diocese of Buea has joined the Catholic tradition of excellence in formal education at the tertiary level. “A child can leave from nursery, primary, secondary, to higher education, uninterrupted with the same mission, vision and values.” According to him, with this educational setup the academic ladder is complete.
While calling on all to make UIDB grow, he said the Institute is for those who have chosen to work, those who have chosen excellence and those who have chosen holiness. He thanked the Minister of Higher Education, the Advisory Board and the University of Buea as well as other remarkable personalities for their tireless contribution to the realisation of the giant plan.
Priority To The Poor
Meanwhile, the President said priority was also given to the plight of the poor in UIDB, as he assured the public that the UIDB Foundation based in the USA will grant full scholarships to 25 percent of the student body and partial scholarships to another 50 percent in a bid to enable the less privileged get quality education. He warned that marginalizing poor students from quality education is a fatal mistake which must be adverted.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, Prof Vincent P.K Titanji, representing the Minister of Higher Education, expressed satisfaction on the creation of this new tertiary institute which he said is coming at a time when the higher education landscape is expanding. He said the University of Buea is proud to be the mentor of UIDB and will work together with it. Prof Titanji further hoped that students of UIDB will successfully live up to the New University Governance Policy as promulgated in 2005.
The high point in the occasion was the taking of the Matriculation Oath by the Institute’s “freshmen” who all pledged to live up to the laws governing their academic stay on campus. Other items which spiced the day included presentation of the Administrative Council Body and tribute was given to those who materialized the scheme. The official inaugural ceremony followed a pontifical mass held earlier at the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church Molyko to thank God for giving the human, financial and material resources which led to the fruition of the project.
Bishop Immanuel Bushu was commissioned as Chancellor of UIDB, while the inauguration ceremony ended with the cutting of ribbon which opened the doors of the University Institute.
Among the personalities who witnessed the inauguration of the premier Catholic University Institute in Anglophone Cameroon were; the Former Prime Minister Chief Ephraim Inoni, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Hon Emilia Lifaka, the Governor of the Southwest Region Koumpa Issa, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, Prof Vincent P.K Titanji, and the Rector of the Catholic University-Bamenda, Rev. Fr. Michael Suh.