UNILAG VC, Prof.Folasade Ogunsola
By Victory Oghene
What has been described as a show of shame by some stakeholders in the education sector reared it’s head as over 20,000 students of the University of Lagos struggled to access 20 computers for the General studies (GST) examination in the first semester of 2023/2024 academic session.
About six students were said to have sustained injuries during the stampede.
NATIONAL WAVES gathered that among the six students were three girls who slumped and were rushed to the University clinic for treatment, two male students reportedly broke their arms while another female student had her head trampled on.
University of Lagos students from Idi Araba and Akoka were expected to take part in the examination.
Sources informed NATIONAL WAVES that the stampede is as a result of attempts by students to enter the halls that were not big enough to accommodate all of them at the same time.
Gathered that some students arrived on the campus as early as 7 am, but were not called to write their papers until 6 pm, leading to the students struggling to gain entry by all means.
The ugly incident which happened on Monday, 26th of February, 2024 culminated in the suspension of the examination by the management of the institution.
A statement seen by NATIONAL WAVES dated February 28th, 2024 and signed by the Head Communication Unit,Alhaja Alaga Ajoke Ibrahim, announced the suspension.
It reads ” The University of Lagos management hereby announces the immediate suspension of the ongoing GST examination for the first semester 2023/2024 session.
“The suspension followed a review of the various issue that have affected the conduct of the examination in the last two days.
“Please note that all the inconveniences caused by this suspension are deeply regretted and a new date/schedule for the GST examination will be shared appropriately ”
In a related development, the Parents Forum of the university has expressed concern and displeasure with the untidy arrangements made for the conduct of the examination by the school authorities.
A statement posted on the forum’s Whatsapp group, seen by NATIONAL WAVES reads ,”Dear esteemed parents of the University of Lagos, Akoka, the executive board of this forum wishes to let you know that we are not unaware of this unpalatable development. Please know that we are not happy with the experiences that some of our children went through to write their GST examination yesterday. We register our outright displeasure and wish to use this medium to appeal to parents to please calm down and allow appropriate administrative measures to be applied to rescue the situation.
“As we have already observed, the university management has taken proactive measures already by stepping in, to put a hold on the examination administration by postponing the examination. This they have done as a rapid response to the situation and our complaints.
“Furthermore, be informed that the executive board did not sleep on this at all, as we are right now on our toes trying to navigate the lanes to an acceptable solution. Our schedules changed automatically to enable us to do the needful.
“Please remember that members of this executive board were first parents before we became members of the exco, so we also feel the same pains, and frustrations that you feel. We are all not happy about this. But we appeal to everyone to please be calm and allow an amicable resolution to be achieved. We pray God Almighty to heal our wounded and traumatized children. The current situation in the country is bad enough, so please we appeal for calm, please. Please expect further feedback from us as soon as generated.”
GST is an abbreviation for General studies often called GNS in most schools.
A dependable source informed NATIONAL WAVES ‘that according to the policy adopted by the Senate, scores obtained in GST courses are not computed as part of the students’ CGPA but a pass in these courses should be a pre-condition for a student’s graduation’.
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