Historical Background of the Department of Religious and Cultural Studies
The Ignatius Ajuru University of Education grew out of the former Rivers State College of Education during the 2009/2010 academic session which prior to this period has been an affiliate of University of Ibadan.
The Department of Religious and Moral Studies as it was originally known was one of the second generation departments to be introduced shortly after the establishment of the then Rivers State College of Education in 1971. The Department came into being in 1975 under the pioneer headship (Leadership) of now Rev. Professor N.S.S. Iwe; an erudite theologian, philosopher, sociologist, lawyer, historian, educationist and a versatile scholar of Religion. The initial programme ran by the Department was the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). Other programmes were later introduced.
University Vision
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education is envisioned as the most suitably structured, resourced and mandated agency with potentials for engendering, sustaining and refining, through all foreseeable educational futures for Rivers State, a dependable supply of suitably prepared graduate manpower stock for maintaining a pre-tertiary educational system which is modelled in governance, system management, formal in structure, curriculum realism, research productivity, support services, global networking, institutional repute, and school leaver worthiness in learning and character.
University Mission
The mission of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education is therefore to justifiably acquire and accountably utilize all the needful input resources for realizing through pre-service preparation and sustaining through in-service training and retraining, a pre-tertiary teaching profession which is erudite in knowledge, proficient in instructional practice, and ethically mature at work and inter-personal, parental, guardian, and industrial relations.
University Objectives
The objectives of the university are to: