ERC
Demands Release of Results and Certificates
Press Statement
The Education
Rights Campaign (ERC) calls on the Prof. Olu Akeusola-led administration of the
Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija Epe, Lagos to
desist from ruining the lives of its degree programme students.
An
education institution is meant to mould lives, but this is not the case with
MOCPED. Rather than mould lives, the College seems hell-bent on destroying the
future of youths unfortunate enough to gain admission into its EKSU-affiliated
degree program. We charge the public to join us in calling the Provost, Prof.
Olu Akeusola to order and demanding that the College releases the results and
certificates of its degree programme students.
The
College is running a degree program affiliated with the Ekiti State University
(EKSU) but no student under the program has been issued results or certificates
since the degree program started about eight (8) years ago. As a result, many
lives have been shattered and dreams crushed. With unemployment rising in the
country, those without certificates have no hope of getting proper employment.
Despite
that people's lives and future are involved, the College administration has not
deemed it fit to issue a single official explanation for this unpleasant state
of affairs. However, enquiries made at the Ekiti State University (EKSU)
reveals that the problem is the MOCPED administration's default in some payment
agreement it had with EKSU for the running of the degree program. For instance,
a similar degree program affiliated with EKSU is being run at the Adeniran
Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin Lagos and reportedly there
has been no complaint about non-release of result or certificate. Prof.
Akeusola's administration of the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education
(MOCPED) is widely known to be very corrupt. Therefore there is a strong belief
that the fees paid by degree students from which payments due to EKSU are to be
deducted may also have been mismanaged like the rest of the College's funds.
Series of
efforts made by the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) to wade into the matter
have been rebuffed. A letter written since September 2014 has not been replied
by the administration. The Lagos state government also appears to be helping
the College administration to cover up its crimes. A similar letter written to
the Commissioner for education on the subject matter has not been replied till
date.
The
connivance of the Lagos State government with the Prof. Akeusola-led MOCPED
administration to deny the affected graduates the right to their certificate is
condemnable. We accuse the Lagos state commissioner for education, Mrs.
Olayinka Oladunjoye, of irresponsibility in the discharge of her duties one of
which is supervision and monitoring of tertiary institutions in the State. The
commissioner for education cannot claim not to know that an educational
institution under her watch has not issued certificates for over eight (8)
years since its degree program started. Assuming that this is the case, you
would expect that upon receiving a complaint in this regard, a pro-active
commissioner would swing into action. But alas, this is not the case.
Anxious to
get attention to their plight, the 2009/2010 set of the degree program who are
the latest victim decided to organise a peaceful protest at the campus gate on
Monday 1st December 2014 which was the first day of the College convocation
ceremony. In response, the College administration unleashed on them a band of
gun-wielding thugs and cultists just as they started gathering for the protest.
The peaceful protest was brutally broken up with many protesters sustaining
injuries as they ran for dear lives. All this happened under the watchful eyes
of the police who were stationed at the College gate.
The ERC
insists that students have a right to demand for the release of their
results and certificates. It was after a series of promises by the College
administration to release their results were unfulfilled and it became clear
that they too are joining the league of ex-degree students without results that
the frustrated students decided to organise a protest at the College gate to
bring attention to their plight and to seek the intervention of Lagos State
government officials and members of the public expected to grace the
convocation.
The ERC
shall continue to stand with the ex-degree students of the college until their
demands are met. They face grave psychological trauma occasioned by their
plight and the lacklustre attitude of the MOCPED administration and the Lagos
State government towards their case. We urge all members of the public
including trade unions, student unions, human right groups and civil society
organisations to lend a hand in compelling the Lagos State government and
MOCPED administration to release their results and certificates.
We Demand:
(1)
Immediate release of results and issuance of certificates to all ex-students of
Ekiti State University-MOCPED affiliate.
(2)
Adequate compensation paid to all the ex-students whose dreams and future have
been shattered due to years of lack of gainful employment as a result of the
non-issuance of their certificates.
(3) An
independent and democratic probe panel constituted by elected representatives
of staff and students' union to probe the administration of MOCPED provost,
Prof. Olu Akeusola in order to find out the true cause of delay in the release
of results and certificates and recommend adequate punishment for anyone in the
College administration, no matter highly placed, whose actions or inactions may
have been responsible for the current unpleasant state of affairs.
(4) Proper
funding of MOCPED and democratic running of the institution with the
involvement of elected representatives of staff and student unions in all
decision making organs of the College.
Hassan
Taiwo Soweto Michael Ogundele
National
Coordinator National Secretary
07033697259
1 comment:
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