Prof. Ndowa Lale, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, on Monday, said that the university won a case against students who took it to court it’s “No Fee, No Exam Policy”
The Vice-Chancellor who spoke in Port Harcourt, during a briefing ahead of the university’s forthcoming 32nd convocation, also said that with a new policy that the university implemented, cultism had no place in the institution again.
According to him: “Recall that the Senate of the university had a running battle with a few of our students in the 2015/2016 academic session over their refusal to abide by the Senate’s policy of no payment, no examination.
“You will also recall that some of the students in this category approached a Federal High Court to challenge the university on the policy that was made contentious by a few students and their sponsors. I am glad to report that despite the initial setback, the management of the university recently floored these misguided students in the own case against us,” she said.
He said it was unfortunate that affected students, who had their academic pursuit stalled in the litigation, wasted their career progression, adding that management was sympathetic to those who have learnt their lesson with a window to have them return to complete their studies.
He further said, “We have resisted the temptation to revel in triumphalism even as the court resolved the argument in our favour. We are talking about charges of N45,000 and you have a window to pay in instalment over the two semesters.
“The godfathers who instigated them are not doing same for their children. Some pay far higher fees even for children in nursery schools. It is deceit to say people should be in school without paying. We are not being wicked by introducing this policy.
“The running cost of the varsity comes from IGR. Nowhere in the world where universities run on credit. The 30 housing unit will recently delivered among other infrastructures we are providing come from IGR. The fate of those affected is in their own hands.”
On cultism in the university campus, Lale said a committee was formed to put an end to the menace and the recommendations of the committee had made it impossible for any student to join a cult group.
According to him: “At the time I came on board, the level of cultism and examination misconduct was high; I asked myself if students who should be the leaders of tomorrow should be involved in such vices. I remember then that the penalty for being a cultist or involvement in examination misconduct was suspension for one semester. Today, if it is established that you are a cult member, you are expelled from the university. Based on this, the issue of cultism and examination misconduct are no longer common and students have advised themselves to be well- behaved.”
He that a total of 9,452 graduates would be presented for the 32nd convocation of the institution.
He said: “Our records show that a total of 4,681 graduates will receive Higher Degrees from the School of Graduate Studies for two sessions. Of the number, 381 will be conferred with Doctor of Philosophy degree in various specialisations. A total of 2,971 candidates will receive the Master’s degree in various programmes, while 1,329 will get the Postgraduate Diploma in various fields for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic sessions.”
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