Season of panic at University of Maiduguri

The category of students that were said to be worse hit by the new strategy of the university include the students of the College of Medical Sciences, many of whom have completed their pre-clinical studies and are now at the teaching hospital. The apprehension started brewing when various faculties and departments in the university began […]

The category of students that were said to be worse hit by the new strategy of the university include the students of the College of Medical Sciences, many of whom have completed their pre-clinical studies and are now at the teaching hospital.

The apprehension started brewing when various faculties and departments in the university began unusual screening of students’ credentials at the beginning of the second semester of this session.

The rumour mill went that all the students who got admission without obtaining Mathematics and English Language in their final exams in secondary school will be flushed out of the university.

The story also had it that the screening will fish out students with questionable admission letters for summary prosecution.

That was when several text messages started circulating and the zeal in the students to read began to diminish.

“How wicked is this world?” Maryam Sadiq, a 300 level student of political science asked. “I was at home for about four years after completing my secondary school before I got admission, just because I don’t have English Language and it appears the opportunity will slip away,” she pondered.

Students who would have been affected by the exercise sent dozens of text messages to media houses and reporters in Maiduguri, questioning the rationale behind the move by the university to screen out some students.

“Since I came to this school about three years ago, I have been sponsoring myself to study so that I can become self reliant…what do you think I would do if the authorities chase me out because of my deficiencies,” an anonymous student who sent a text message to this reporter said.

Some of the students claimed that they paid as much as N100, 000 to unnamed officials in the university before they got their admission letters.

“The admission did not come for free, we paid for it and heaven will fall if they  sack us,” a student in the faculty of agriculture, who gave his name as Chibuzo threatened.

But Professor Ibrahim Njodi, the deputy vice chancellor (Academic Services) of the university in an interview with Kanem Trust debunked the claims that over ten 10,000 out of the 35,000 students in the institution will be withdrawn.

He said the university embarked on the screening in order to ascertain students with deficiencies in their secondary school credentials so as to ask them (students) to go and make up the deficiencies.

“What the university plans to do is that students who do not have O’ level Mathematics and English Language in addition to the requirement of various departments will not be allowed to collect their degree certificates after graduation until they produce such results,” he said.

“We are fully aware of the rumours going round in the institution that we are planning to dismiss some students, how can we do this?” he asked

“It is absolutely not true. There is no way we can dismiss our students just like that because we admitted them. We have however given conditions to those with deficiencies, about 1500 of them, to make up for their deficiencies and we would ensure strict compliance,” he said.

He however confirmed that there was pressure from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) on the university to ensure that students reading medicine do not exceed 150 in a class.

“At present, we have some classes in the medical college that have about 170 students or more. but, the over population was not deliberate; we did not flout the orders of the medical and dental council but certain things happen naturally.

“The issue of admitting students with deficiencies into the medical college did not arise because right from the onset, we ensured that all those admitted to read medicine have qualified even though we have cases of some students with little deficiencies in the faculties of Agriculture, Engineering and Sciences,” the professor said.

“In respect of medical students, what happened was that in the course of their studies, some of them had to repeat a class because of one reason or the other and naturally, with things like this, the tendency is that you will have more students in a class than expected.

“In order to correct the anomaly and comply with the directives of the supervising body, we have put machinery on ground in which we would organize special exams for our medical students,” The DVC said.

“We would start the screening from the senior class. Any student that fails the exam will be asked to join the lower class but nobody will be expelled. We believe at the end of the exercise nobody will be asked to go,” he said.

On the students who have deficiencies, Professor Njodi said “We didn’t say we would sack them also, because we know that their parents have invested heavily in them and we do not want situations where we would send them to the streets, the point is clear, even if you passed all exams in the university, your result will be withheld until you produce your complete secondary school results,” he said

He added that the university had stopped admitting students with deficiencies two years ago in order to close the doors of uncertainties. “We feel it is better for students to remain at home until they get the requirements of entering the university,” he said.

The President of the students union government of the university, Musa Usman Terrang said what the authorities plan to do was right. “We have been consulted and we are in full support of the initiative because that is the only way to ensure standard in the university,” he said.

He disclosed that there are thousands of students with distinctions in all their SSCE papers but are wandering on the streets because they don’t have money to bribe and get admission into universities.

“We want a transparent procedure, we want a situation whereby all students, irrespective of parental background get the highest educational qualifications in the land and this possible when the right thing is done,” he said

Terrang thanked Professor Njodi for opening up. “What the DVC said will calm the nerves of our students, especially those with deficiencies and the position of the university will force them to sit up for the papers they are lacking in,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that even though the university had gone ahead with the screening, virtually all the students with deficiencies in their 0’ levels have written the second semester examinations.

“I was really demoralised by the exercise but thank God I wrote my exams…I have also registered for NECO (National Examinational Council) and will sit for the exams during the break,” Halima Yusuf, a student in the university said.