Fight against sex for grades in tertiary institutions
The issue of sex for grades in tertiary institutions across West Africa has been disheartening to say the least. It is a corrupt practice usually by lecturers of these institutions, who demand for sex in order to pass their students. They go as far as intentionally failing the student knowing that the student will be […]
The issue of sex for grades in tertiary institutions across West Africa has been disheartening to say the least. It is a corrupt practice usually by lecturers of these institutions, who demand for sex in order to pass their students. They go as far as intentionally failing the student knowing that the student will be at their mercy, thereby taking advantage of the student’s helpless situation.
Year after year, there have been allegations of sexual harassment by lecturers in these institutions, especially in federal universities. Students of these universities usually resort to social media to complain about their experiences of sexual harassment by their lecturers and when asked to report the incidences, they say that the school doesn’t do anything, saying that those lecturers have families to feed and cater for and losing their job could be disastrous for them.
Tertiary institutions can put in place some measures in order to eradicate the issue of sex for grades. This could include exams being marked and graded by a lecturer different from the one who takes the class. This way, the scripts are marked and graded without any form of sentiment, partiality or the sort.
The institutions should also set up a disciplinary committees which would come up with the appropriate punishment for any offence committed by the staff. This committee should be independent and free from external control or influence. A rating portal on the institution’s site could also be provided, where students can anonymously rate their lecturers on the scale of 10 or 100. This way, if a particular lecturer has a generally poor rating, the institution could easily look into the problem and conduct investigation to find what exactly is going on.
The students should also avoid going to the offices of lecturers; a student support administration should be provided where students can submit complaints about their grades. The administration should handle these cases.
Yisau Abdussalam, Babcock University