KNOW YOUR SCHOOL

UNIBEN Maingate

Hello everyone, before we even talk about post UTME, how many of you have taken your time to know about the University of Benin (UNIBEN)? Please try to read this article because it has all you need to know  about UNIBEN.

The University of Benin was founded in 1970. It started as an Institute of Technology and was accorded the status of a full-fledged University by National Universities Commission (NUC) on 1 July 1971. In his Budget Speech in April 1972, the then Military Governor of Mid-Western State, Col. S. O. Ogbemudia (then also Visitor to the University) formally announced the change of the name of the Institute of Technology to the University of Benin. Optometry program was also founded (established) within the Faculty of Science in 1972 under the headship of Dr.Paul Ogbuehi (department of Physics). By 1976, Optometry program in UNIBEN had on its faculty qualified professional with practice licenses from Canada, England, and United States of America. The program had a faculty-student ratio of 2:1, many from College of Medicine and Medical Sciences earned its accredited On 1 April 1975 the University at the request of the State Government, was taken over by the Federal Government and became a Federal University.

Following NUC’s directives, the University experimented with the Collegiate System in 1991/92 and 1992/93. However, in the light of new developments, the University reverted to the Faculty System except for the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Basic Medical Sciences, and Institute of Child Health which reverted to the Collegiate System in August, 1999, with a Provost as its administrative head. The Faculties as presently constituted are those of Agriculture, Arts, Education, Engineering, Law, Life Science, Pharmacy, Physical Science, Social Science, and the College of Medical Sciences (which has three Schools: Basic Medical Sciences; Dentistry and Medicine; and the Institute of Child Health).

In January 2006, the Federal Government approved the take off of the College of Petroleum and Gas Engineering of the University of Benin at Effurun, near Warri, in Delta State, with the initial population of 100 students in two departments; Petroleum Engineering and Gas Engineering.

The University offers courses at various levels: Postgraduate, Undergraduate, Diploma and Certificate. Presently, the total student enrollment stands at over 40,000 made up of both full-time and part-time students shared among the various Faculties.

In 1985, Grace Alele-Williams became Nigeria's first female Vice-Chancellor when she was appointed to head the University of Benin. She served as its Vice-Chancellor until 1991.

The University collaborates with other universities around the world and with both local and international bodies such as USAID, Ford Foundation, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), RMRDC (Raw Materials Research & Development Council of Nigeria) amongst others in the areas of Agriculture, Public Health and Engineering.

Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin

·         Agriculture

·         Arts

·         Education consists of the following 10 departments

A. Adult & Non Formal Education

B. Curriculum and Instructional Technology

C. Educational Foundations

D. Educational Management offers B.Sc. (Ed) in the following courses

i. Early Childhood Education

ii. Economics & Statistics

iii. Educational Management

iv. Geography

v. Library Information Science

vi. Political Science

The department also offers M.Ed and PhD in Educational Management

E. Educational and Evaluation Counseling Psychology

F. Human Kinetics and Sports Science

G. Health, Safety and Environmental Education

H. Vocational & Technical Education

·         Engineering Consists of the following 8 departments

A. Mechanical Engineering

B. Electrical Engineering

C. Petroleum Engineering

D. Chemical Engineering

E. Civil Engineering

F. Production Engineering

G. Structural Engineering

H. Computer Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

·         Environmental Sciences

·         Law

·         Life Sciences

·         Management Sciences

·         Pharmacy

·         Physical Sciences

·         Social Sciences consists of the following five departments:

A. Economics And Statistics

B. Geography And Regional Planning

C. Political Science And Public Administration

D. Sociology And Anthropology

E. Social Work

·         Environmental Science

·         Center For Entrepreneurship Study

Faculty of Social Science

College of Medical Sciences

The College of Medical Sciences is made of three Schools and an Institute, namely

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine was established in 1973, then Faculty of Medicine to Medicine to run a 6-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) full-time degree program. The first Dean of the School was Professor T. Belo-Osagie. He was Dean from 1973-1975. With the exit ofProfessor T. Belo-Osagie, Professor K. Diete-Koki became the Dean of the School. Since then, the School has had various Deans and Heads of Departments in the last 30 years. The immediate past Dean of the School was Prof. Dr.(med.) E. Oviasu The present Dean of the School of Medicine is Professor M.Momoh.

School of Basic Medical Science

School of Basic Medical Science was established in December 2003 from the College of Medical Sciences and finally took off in January 2004. The school undertakes undergraduate programs for B.Sc. In addition the school provides services for other schools within the college-Schools of Medicine and Dentistry as well as other Faculties in the University: Sciences and School of Pharmacy. The School of Basic Medical Science has the following seven (7) departments: 1. Anatomy 2. Medical Biochemistry 3. Medical Laboratory Science 4. Nursing Science 5. Physiology 6. Physiotherapy 7. Radiography and Radiation Science

School of Dentistry

The School of Dentistry coordinates courses and curricular within the College leading to the award of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree. The School of Dentistry(as it was known then) started in 1976 and the first batch of students were admitted in the 1976/77 Session. It was established as an integral part of the College of Medical Sciences in 1975 by amendment to the Edict establishing the University of Benin. In 2012 with support from the International Federation of Endodontic Associations(IFEA) and donations from University of Texas at Houston School of Dentistry and the Okwen family, Dr. Mbachan Collins Okwen BDS(Benin), DDS, MBA introduced regenerative endodontics and modern microscopic endodontics at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital

Library

The university's main library, the John Harris Library, was named after the pioneer university librarian, Prof. John Harris, from New Zealand. The library began with the inception of the university in 1970 at the Ekehuan Road Campus. John Harris Library is an ultra-modern building with central air conditioning. The building is designed to seat about 700 readers. It provides photocopying, duplicating, laminating and binding services. The library has been computerized. Installation of other modern information technology facilities is ongoing.

With the high increase in student population, the library has embarked on an expansion programme with the establishment of faculty libraries; the Ekehuan Road Campus Library, Medical Library, Law, Engineering and Pharmacy Library are functional. A John Harris Library extension is awaiting commissioning. The library participates in interlibrary co-operation among Nigerian academic libraries.