Allegations of ‘campus marriages’ on the rise

The youth mostly go to universities and other institutions of higher learning to acquire knowledge and wholeheartedly pay attention to education and career development before graduation. Many undergraduate students met their spouses in the schools and many married graduates have attended the same schools as their partners. However, temporary or ‘campus marriage’ in which female […]

The youth mostly go to universities and other institutions of higher learning to acquire knowledge and wholeheartedly pay attention to education and career development before graduation.
Many undergraduate students met their spouses in the schools and many married graduates have attended the same schools as their partners.
However, temporary or ‘campus marriage’ in which female and male students stay as husband and wife for a stipulated period without parental consent and participation is on the increase. The contract is rather dissolved as one or both spouses complete their academic pursuits or when conflict arises.    
A student of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) said the temporary couples who are usually off campus students simply “live together in the same abode. They eat together, study together and even copulate without being legally married.”
The source further said that ‘campus marriage’ had become popular among undergraduates in schools, adding that “the couples justify this unacceptable act on the grounds of emotional feelings and lack of accommodation. For some, it is for security reasons. And some students engage in the act chiefly to familiarize themselves with their partners before legal marriage, amidst other rationalization.”
 He said the demerits of campus marriages include “withdrawal from school, the compounding of carry-over courses resulting from lack of focus, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Also, there are problems of dwindling academic performances, deaths during abortions or barrenness following the incessant removal of foetus.”
 The source said temporary marriages are common with students living off campus.

Alpha Paul Ngbede 300 Level, Mass Communication, NSUK