The present Vice Chancellor of our great institution, the Imo State University (IMSU) Owerri, has through efforts, good works and harmonious working relation proved the saying, that, what a man can do, a woman can do even better. Since her assumption of office as the substantive Vice Chancellor, the woman of honour and letters, has gone a long way in pursuit of administrative competence and academic excellence thus lifting the college from a glorified money making, corrupt, squabble ridden glorified secondary school back to its enviable status as one of the best higher institutions in Nigeria established about 35 years ago on the pattern of Nebraska multi Campus University in USA initially and administered by a world renowned scholar Prof M.J.C Echeruo. It is unfortunate Abia State University stole all that and left IMSU with nothing.
IMSU at its peak was the envy of other institution in the field of law and a few other faculties until the merchants of evil and corruption invaded the citadel. Equally our senior colleague in the communication job, a revered titled man of Uratta extraction has always put out his best in laundering and cleaning the public image of the institution, but it is regrettable that some adamant, rotten egg head merchants are hell-bent on giving this institution, “an establishment” built with the tax payers’ money, a very bad image.
This same group of staff both in the administration and academics, are at variance with the governments offer of qualitative and free education to children of this state.
Time was in this institution, when admission was not on performance or merit but offered to the highest bidder in cash. At another era, it was the struggle for leadership that led to litigations, strikes and logjams to the detriment of students and their parents or guardians. The end product does not matter to them provided you can enrich your purse to purchase higher degrees.
The media including this column have severally complained and consistently raised alarm over the number of anomalies and illegalities going on in this institution including harassment and frustration of students for money making or sexual harassment. The issue of illegal purchase of hand-outs and payment for correction of assignment or marking of scripts is glaring. This is an institution where a student is forced to gather and compile his results as if the lecturers and examiners are on holidays. An institution where a student has to cough out over fifty thousand naira to scale through in a particular subject or otherwise remains in the university for as long as he wishes. Of course if she is a female she has to pay for a private chalet where she has to grease the ever itching loins of the randy lecturer for whatever grades she requires.
However, our concern today is in the faculty of education where students have been having various investigated complaints that left some graduating students to put extra wasted years due to the administrative lapses of those in authority. The case for the department of English in that faculty is a matter for another day. For some years, a large number of graduates of that faculty find it difficult to be included in the list of those to be forwarded for the compulsory one year national youth corps service (NYSC) scheme. It is a well known fact that thousands of graduates of IMSU are waiting to be called up for national service and majority of them from the faculty of education and the cause is yet to be explained. We are fully aware that out of over 7 million graduands of the institution awaiting service only about 700 candidates had their names on the 2017/2018 batch B list, a worried situation that forced the V.C to travel to Abuja to iron out issues.
Findings revealed that some departmental heads while busy chasing after money have neglected the function of correcting/marking scripts and forwarding results to the department of exams and records. Students are forced to move from one department to the other chasing results. Administration department on its own does not have clear records of indebted and non indebted students as there is no proper records and as a result a graduating student at IMSU has to cough out a little above N150,000 in an institution where the government is offering free education, for final clearance to qualify for national youth service, (NYSC).
In the case of the faculty of education, the public would like to know why the lists of their students have not been submitted for two years running. What is the squabble in the office of the Deans between a lecturer and the administrative heads. The students are the victims. “We do not intend to put our revered Nze at task but something is amiss and ought to be corrected soonest”, they exclaimed.
The lecturers are hired to teach, correct assignments, compile results and forward to exams and records. The Deans or Heads of Departments are liable for accurate submission of correct lists of qualifying graduates to the Senate.
