Lagos State University (LASU)’s withdrawal of 19 PhDs

The decision of the Lagos State University (LASU) to withdraw Doctor of Philosophy degrees (PhDs) it earlier awarded 19 candidates is generating ripples in academic circles in the country.

The Vice-Chancellor of the 31-year-old institution, Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, explained that the doctor­ate degrees were withdrawn by the university Senate because they were tainted and awarded in error.

The decision came on the heels of a petition by one of the PhD recipients that the degree awarded to her was dif­ferent from the one she applied for. The petitioner had been awarded a PhD in Business Administration (Marketing) instead of a doctorate in International Business, which she registered for.

The recall of the 19 doctorate degrees has apparently not gone down well with some members of the academic com­munity in LASU. For instance, the local branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) regards the devel­opment as a punitive measure targeted at some members of staff who were at the forefront of the lingering trade dis­pute between ASUU and the university authorities. The stance of the union leaders provoked the Vice-Chancellor to explain further that the issue of the petition by the doctoral graduate came up at a meeting of the Senate, which subsequently ordered an investigation of all PhDs awarded by the university in the last five years. The probe threw up 18 other anomalous doctorate degrees also awarded in Faculty of Manage­ment Sciences.

The circumstances surrounding the award and withdrawal of the allegedly tainted doctorate degrees at LASU are very embarrassing. Although the Vice Chancellor has explained that his of­fice neither awards nor withdraws de­grees, the laxity and shoddiness that led to the award of the controversial doctorates are quite unbecoming of a university.

We, however, commend Prof. Oba­funwa for his forthrightness and strong resolve to confront the untidy situation, and do whatever is necessary to rem­edy it. There is no doubt that the LASU Senate, like the Senate of any other university that finds itself in such a dis­graceful circumstance, has the right to withdraw degrees that have been un­worthily conferred on students. What­ever legal measure is taken to protect the integrity and credibility of univer­sity degrees, as appears to have been done in this case, is worth it.

It is unfortunate, however, that the timing of the intervention by the Sen­ate has laid the university open to al­legation that the decision is punitive and directed at the arrowheads of the lingering industrial dispute in the insti­tution.

This is really sad because the devel­opment has cast a slur on the univer­sity’s image, both locally and interna­tionally. The award of certificates in courses that were not approved by the Senate and the conferment of degrees in courses that candidates never ap­plied for are an indictment of the entire university administration.

LASU should manage this malodor­ous deve properly to limit the damage to its reputation. In view of the con­troversy surrounding the entire exer­cise, the 19 affected doctorate degrees should be reviewed to ensure that jus­tice has not been miscarried in any way.

On no account should any doctoral graduate be punished for the laxity of the system. All the affected doctoral graduates, including the petitioner, should be given fair hearing on the matter. If there are errors in the with­drawals as being alleged, let them be rectified. Let the right thing be done in line with global best practice.

Ordinarily, the processes leading to the award of PhDs are rigorous and painstaking. They do not leave room for anomalies such as the one that oc­curred in LASU. The university should, therefore, put its postgraduate school and the affected Department in order to avoid the lapses that led to this ugly incident.

Let there be a serious investigation of the laxity that led to the alleged monumental academic fraud. All those found guilty of academic fraud or der­eliction of duty in the tainted doctorate degrees saga should be appropriately sanctioned to ensure that such never recurs in the institution.

The Sun Editorial