Anambra Varsity: Graduates At War With Vice Chancellor Over Non Accreditation of Technology Education As Graduates Future Hanging In The Balance

                                                       
                         

There is palpable tension in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra state over the status of graduating students of department of Technology Education. They have graduated but their department was not accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC), thus their graduation is like not graduation but mere waste of time and resources in the last four years.

They are not alone, there are still students in year two to final year still wasting their time and resources without the wisdom of the authorities of the university to do the needful. They only stopped further admission in 2013/2014 academic year but there are students admitted in 2012/2013 academic year despite the challenges. They asked those given admission into the department in 2013/2014 to change to Science Education and other courses during their clearance.

The question is why is the course not accredited despite N5 Billion former Governor Peter Obi gave the University and other monies he gave earlier for the accreditation of the University courses which they announced they have done? There was not even a temporary accreditation or what? Does it mean the students would not graduate?

Governor Peter Obi would be livid wherever he is now reading this piece because it appears a betrayal of mission and vision to change the status of the University with his large and huge investments. Why would accreditation of an Education department be a problem? What is Governing Council Chairman Prof Elochukwu Amucheazi doing?

Governor Willie Obiano must hear this and the problem resolved as all entreaties by the students to have the situation resolved have proved abortive?

Course Representative of the final year class Chisom Obialo with friends were crying when this reporter encountered  them and they were quick to narrate their plight when they leant this reporter came from the Nation Newspapers. They had finished a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the management.  

Obialo said: ‘’ Our department has a problem with resource verification and the two times the school did it , it failed to get accreditation due to lack of good books in the library, teaching staff not enough among other little things that could be sorted out.

‘’The school management appears disposed with shutting down the department rather than fixing the complaints that made its accreditation denied. And we did a peaceful protest  and after that we were asked to change to Science Education or to other department in Engineering or any other department of our choice without considering the cost implications. The protest made it possible for us to have audience with the Vice Chancellor, Prof Fidelis Okafor.

‘’We checked what is involved and discovered that it would take us a minimum of 2 years if not in Engineering and minimum of 3 years in an Engineering course. And aside that we would be attending lectures of year 1, year 2 and year 3 before we graduate and you know how tasking that would be?   

Head of the Department of the Technology Education , S. A Akaneme apparently not in grasp of what to say was why he superintended the students wasting their time and resources in the last four years demanded that this reporter visit the Vice Chancellor or the Registrar as he is not ready to speak with him despite all entreaties. They had earlier said we should go and tell our parents but we rejected the offer because they know how much and time it would take whereas we had earlier pleaded to change course when it was still one year , they refused hoping to gain accreditation but now it did not materialize they want us to tell our parents who went through hell to train us to continue afresh.   

‘’Remember that when we got the admission and found out the situation that we wanted to change but they said no. Now we have finished our degree examinations and wrote our projects only that they have not arranged for us to come for defense. The good thing they can do for us is to transfer us to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka where the Institution could arrange for a mop up examination to enable us graduate. That is the most viable option for us rather than to go and spend another 2 to 3 years in another course which we may not understand the basics.

‘’They have not think out what to do to those still behind us , now that we are having this challenge or when they graduate too , this situation will once arise? If we wait for another resource verification, we don’t know when. The agony is that there was a meeting we had with the Registrar and he said that people in our department do not exist?  

The glory of the encounter was that we had an agreement with the Vice Chancellor to take us to other Universities like Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka to be aligned with them and do the needful to graduate with them after special tutorial sessions and examinations if need be but since then we have not heard from him.

The Academic Adviser , Dr Nkiru Achebe when contacted to find out why she never advised the students aright and allowed them to graduate , she said she has never seen the students in over two weeks to know the stage they have gone with the agitation.

Achebe said: ‘’this is a long story. I don’t know what to advise again , they must have told you. Anything you want to ask me ask the students , they would answer on my behalf . I don’t want to be provoked but if you don’t mind come next Wednesday if you want to know what I have advised.

When she was informed that next Wednesday will be too far for the report to go, she warned again that she was not willing to be provoked and promptly added that she would not answer anything again.

The Dean Faculty of Education , Prof Benedeth  Ezeliora was not patience enough to hear this reporter out after explaining the mission of the contact but snapped that she is on the highway , adding who is this one calling me.

Registrar of the University , Mr O.R.A Okechukwu told The Nation Education that the issue was worth discussing about but should not be immediately and promised to discuss about it in the night but every effort to get across to him failed.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the Institution, Lady Chinwe Nnedum confirmed the precarious situations the students of Technology Education found themselves.

Nnedum said : ‘’No no the students have been asked to go to any department of their choice because accreditation of the department did not go through.

On the number of years they would lose should they go to other departments , the PRO said : ‘’ What I am not sure is how many years or how long it would take them but I don’t want to be categorical on that but they would surely lose something . So rather than continue in futile waiting till the next accreditation, they were advised to go to any department of their choice.

On the request of the students to take them to other universities where the course is being studied like Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka , she said : ‘’I don’t know about their earlier request to be changed to other universities but I would find out from the Vice chancellor because what I don’t know I don’t know…..’’.

Secretary General of the Students Union Government (SUG) , Chidozie Ilora described the situation as little issues that would be sorted out but was not in the mood to speak on that further as at the time of this report.

As this report was flying in for publication, the  Vice Chancellor of the University , Prof Fidelis Okafor this Tuesday  met with the students of Department of Education Technology over the best option to tackle this mess  they created for them but could not let out his stand to the entreaties by Nation Education even as the students have petitioned him restating their stand .

All the efforts to hear the Vice Chancellor, Prof Okafor unlike him failed as he feigned ignorance of all the over 20 calls I put across to him on different occasions over the fate of the students.  He is used to responding to enquires from journalists with ease but never responded to this one.

The Technology Education students have also petitioned the National Human Rights Commission and other Human Rights Groups for intervention. The new Governor , Chief Willie Obiano would be reading their petition soonest as they have written him, the Chief Judge and the Speaker for intervention before they are pushed into something else.

 The Petition signed by the 17 students to various personalities including the Vice Chancellor read thus in part: ‘’….in line with solving the current problem , we have considered and x rayed the option of changing to other departments and we found out that if we change to Science Education (Computer Education option) which is the most related and has the least number of courses , we will write about forty two (42) fresh courses which will take us a minimal of two years or four semesters . We will also have to carry Twenty seven credit load per semester and attend lectures of more than one level at a time (ie attend lectures of year1, year2, and some year 3 in particular semester) .

‘’If we change to Engineering according to our various options , Mechanical Engineering will require a minimum of three years of six semesters to write about sixty six (66) courses excluding SIWES and project , one hundred and sixty five credit load. We will also have to attend lectures of more than one level at a time in all so as to complete the programme in the said time frame / number of years.

‘’ If we change to Civil Engineering , we will write about sixty three (63) courses , one hundred and forty three credit load excluding SIWES and project. This will also require a minimum of three years.

‘’ If we change to Electrical and Electronics Engineering , we will write about forty nine (49)courses , one hundred and forty eight (148) credit load which will also require a minimum of three (3) years or six (6) semesters.

‘’……sequel to our agreement with you on 4^th February, 2014 to merge us with our set at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (UNIZIK), we have made possible efforts to realizing this objective.

‘’We were able to reach the Dean , faculty of Education , UNIZIK, the following day being 5^th February 2014 on the same issue and he told us that Unizik has been accepting students on transfer but stopped at a time due to cultism issues but our case is quite different. He went further to say that it is a matter of our school (ANSU) administration reaching out to UNIZIK and having an agreement and also having an understanding , if there are necessary adjustments that needed to be done , he the Dean is an ever willing and obedient servant to carry out directives from the authorities. He said it was not within his office to tell us whether this particular merger would  work or not, that it depends on the school authorities and the card our school ANSU places on the table which we understand to mean how our school presents the matter to them.

The students after saying much concluded thus: ‘’We were shocked to learn from our Dean in a meeting on 17^th February, 2014 told us that the Registrar informed them at a meeting held on 12^th February 2014 that he has gone to Unizik and found out that transferring us to UNIZIK will require /take up to two years about Two million naira to lobby the senate of UNIZIK and that as a matter of fact that Unizik has never accepted students on transfer . However we discovered later that there was no such information from Unizik management according to the DVC (Admin) of Unizik.

‘’…….We are still waiting to assist the school in any way we can to see that this matter is resolved urgently,’’ to avoid our future being put in jeopardy.  

Written by Odogwu Emeka Odogwu , Onitsha