OAU Students In Confusion As ASUU And Management Disagree Over Commencement Of Examination

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, against conducting examinations when 70 percent of courses have not been taught. 

The university, which called back its students to school on Monday, has scheduled the examinations to start on January 14.

But members of ASUU at the university, said the examinations would be “Null and Void” if conducted and warned students against participating in the examinations.

Lecturers of the university are divided over the strike as those in the parallel Congress of Universities Academics (CONUA) refused to join in the nationwide strike of ASUU which started on November 4.

The management of OAU had said the examination will begin on January 14 despite that some students have not been receiving lectures for the past three months.

ASUU accused the OAU management of pressuring its members to set examination questions for courses and topics not taught.

The Union, in an open letter to the students signed by its chairman, Adeola Egbedokun, warned that any examination conducted by the school will be null and void.

The lecturers said a minimum of 12 weeks teaching, one compulsory lecture-free week and two weeks of examination as provided by the university regulations had not been adhered to.

Meanwhile the school management in a counter release, reassured that nothing would disrupt the conduct of the 2017/2018 rain semester examinations as the university management has put every machinery in motion to make it hitch free. 

In a statement by the university’s spokesperson, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju said: “It is very expedient to issue this press statement not only to make this clarification but also to emphasize the readiness of the university to conduct the examinations as scheduled, contrary to the falsehood which the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife branch has been peddling about on the true position of things on OAU campus.”

The statement reads: “Certainly, it will amount to gross deceit to claim that the current strike has been effective at OAU.    It will not be out of place to describe the strike as the most ineffective, ever, in the history of OAU as academic and administrative activities have continued unabated. There is no form of interruption, whatsoever, have academic activities including teaching, learning and research, suffered since the strike began.

“The general public is quite aware that the 43rd Convocation Ceremony for the 2015/2016 and 2016/3017 graduating sets of the University was successfully held from Tuesday, 11th to Friday, 14th December, 2018.

“Even statutory meetings of the University such as senate, Administrative Staff Committee meetings, Appointments and Promotions Committee (A&PC) meetings, Development Committee meetings, Junior Staff Committee meetings and the Procurement Committee meetings all held as scheduled.

“In addition to all these, the University played host to several national and international conferences including a very unique one on the Application of Information and Communications Technology to Teaching, Research and Administration held from the 11th to 14th November, 2018.

“Many professional bodies visited for collaboration or accreditation purposes, and the University received a substantial number of important guests.

“The faculties of Clinical Sciences, Environmental Design and Management and Social Sciences successfully had their annual conferences and Faculty weeks.    During the period the nationwide strike commenced and now, there have been a flurry of academic, research and social activities, unprecedented in the history of our university.

“All these would not have been possible without the full cooperation of the academic members of staff who ASUU mischievously claimed had been on strike in OAU!”

“The University has also enjoyed the cooperation of non-teaching staff who are quite conversant with the issues at a stake and can easily recognize the need to keep the Senate approved calendar of the University sacrosanct at this time.

“To further set the record straight concerning ASUU’s lies, at a Management meeting held on December 17, 2018, reports from Provosts and Deans indicated that effective and efficient teaching had been carried out in all Faculties even though a few lecturers (less than 20 among an academic staff population of over 1300) had not completed the teaching of their assigned courses.

“  Their teaching assignments have been reassigned to other academic members of staff who have gladly taken up the challenge to ensure that we have a smooth academic session.

“The University administration and the generality of the students will forever be grateful to them for their sacrifice.    They have lived up to the expectations of the new Obafemi Awolowo University that is devoid of disruptions of the academic calendar.

“A rebranded OAU that will no longer graduate students with many extra years, who have never failed any course but simply suffered the misfortune of incessant strikes.

“OAU is running a Senate approved calendar and this cannot be jettisoned based on the whims and caprices of a very insignificant number of academic staff.

“As of today in 2019, OAU is still in the 2017/2018 academic session and yet to commence the 2018/2019 session not to talk of the 2019/2020 session which should be the ideal.

“Our esteemed parents, guardians and other stakeholders should please note that it is no longer the intention of OAU to cancel academic sessions as had been in the practice in the past.

“The University authorities will like to implore ASUU to join this progressive movement and think of a proper and better way of resolving differences other than truncating the academic progress and future career of hardworking students.

“ It is condemnable that ASUU condemned the reallocation of courses to lecturers who voluntarily accepted to teach these courses.    It will be good if ASUU can name any of its members who had been forcefully assigned a course.

“The truth is that the OAU community has realized that incessant strikes compromise standards and has spoken with a very loud voice to reject this archaic model as an instrument for conflict resolution in modern citadels of learning.”