Udom said he felt stunned and was almost in tears at a meeting of the university council on Wednesday where his letter of resignation was submitted and accepted.

“But I knew I had to make this decision because I only have a year and five months left in my term and I would be unable to fill the deputy rectors’ positions in such a short time,” he said.

Udom said he would stay on until August 1 while his successor was being sought.

In a statement explaining the reason behind his resignation, Udom said the 13 deputy rectors quit on April 1 due to “personal and family limitations” in the face of the new NACC requirement for university deputy rectors.

He said it would be too difficult to find candidates with the necessary knowledge, competence and experience in the 17 months he has left in his post. Newly hired deputy rectors generally take six month to a year to settle in, he said, leaving the university administration less effective.

To mitigate damage to the administration and avoid slowing the school’s development, Udom decided to resign along with the 13 acting deputy rectors, effective August 1, to make way for the selection of new administrators.