UDUS graduates in Trouble

Final year students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), have finished their exams since last November, yet many have not obtained their  statements of result, a prerequisite for being mobilised for the mandatory one year  National Youths Service Corps (NYSC).

As at last month, only a handful of students’ statements of result have been released and were awaiting mobilisation before the Federal Government ordered all tertiary institutions nationwide to shut down for a month, following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

At present, only a few students have been mobilised across some departments, while some departments have not.

Findings by CAMPUSLIFe revealed that in the list initially released towards the end of February, three graduates have been mobilised from the Department of Microbiology; three from Biology, one from Botany, 48 from Computer Science, one from Mathematics; one from Physics; and three in Pure Chemistry and Statistics.

Meanwhile, the final year students who have completed all academic activities are daily bemoaning the delay in the collection of notification of results as well as mobilisation for NYSC.

Many of the aggrieved students are heaping up blames on the current administration led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Suleiman Bilbis,  who took over the baton of leadership of the institution from his predecessor, Prof Prof Abdullahi Zuru, in July last year. They are saying that the current administration appears to be gradually altering the once swift process that allowed students to have their statement of results and be immediately mobilised for service once they met all criteria.

Following the complaints earlier last month, the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Aminu Mode, pleaded with the aggrieved students, saying the managements had not gone to bed over the matter.

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Interestingly, this is a time many institutions have fully mobilised their students for NYSC. More worrisome is the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic will almost definitely alter academic calendar in most schools, hence the need to be a step ahead of time.  Meanwhile, UDUS is still battling with approval of results from the Senate.

One of the aggrieved students, Aliyu Aminu Defence, from the Department of Microbiology, blamed the incumbent management for its snail-speed approach.

He said: “I blame the new administration for the delay (in mobilisation).

“What I’m saying is that there was nothing like this in the immediate past administration. Students use to get there notifications before NYSC open its portal for registration. However, things seem to be the reverse now.

“Some graduates who have registered for NYSC are yet to have their notifications on ground. The management is one way or the other trying their best to rectify the problem, but I’ll advise them to intensify their efforts.”

Aliyu’s coursemate Ibrahim Shehu Kalgo, said he could not wait to have his one year mandatory service done and dusted since he had other plans.

“I want to serve and immediately after, start seeking jobs, but I’m not happy about this delay. Both the management and our various departments contributed to this,” Kalgo began.

He continued:  “I can give you example from my department. I finished my exams on October 18, last year; but I think my result was sent for vetting in mid- February. If management had put pressure on the department, they would have submitted results on time.”

Abdulrahman Yahya, a graduate of English, appeared to be more or less philosophical, although disappointed.

“I was disappointed at first but I later understood that we can’t all go together. I am  more disappointed because I never thought about the possibility of not making Batch A. Many were mobilised from my department, so, it would be selfish to lambast those in charge just because I didn’t make it. I await Batch B, anyway.

Ibrahim Gambo Lawal from the Department of Botany, pitched his tent with Yahya and Aliyu

“I think both the faculty and the management are at fault,” Lawal protested.

He added: “I have finished all my exams since early November but I wasn’t mobilised in February. The delay in mobilisation affected us because we were at home doing nothing.”

“What I meant was that about a hundred plus were mobilised in my department. I believe each department was given a minimum number,” said Sa’ad Umar Faruq, from the Department of Economics Education.

Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, Faruq who had already graduated recounted how he had to return to UDUS at two separate years to resit two courses he failed while as undergraduate. Though, Faruq said he had seen the two results in January where he passed in flying colours; yet his department is prevailing on him and others in his shoes to wait until other students were mobilised.

“My results have been released in early January because I have spilled over two times before I graduated this year. Yet, the department kept telling us to wait for others before we could be mobilised because our notification of result hasn’t been released by the management,” he said.

Muhammad Jamiu Muhammed from the Department of Public Administration, also bemoaned that many of his contemporaries could not be mobilised for the first batch.

He said: “Sincerely, the delay experienced has little or no effect. Nonetheless, what I can say is: the delay denied virtually all of us the opportunity of making the Stream 1, while only a few of us were lucky to make it.

“A very larger number of us will now have to wait for Stream 2, and it all boils down to the unnecessary delays in vetting of our results  by the Senate.”

“As fresh graduates, there is this euphoria in you realising that soon, you’ll be putting on NYSC khaki, but all that has been killed by the delay in the mobilisation. Virtually, all my colleagues have in one way or the other expressed their sadness over the delay.”

“To the best of knowledge, many departments submitted their results for vetting since December but nothing was done up till January. From my point of view, the delay in the mobilisation is not the fault of some departments but management.”

However, Lawal urged the management to look into the proble, saying it is now becoming a recurring decimal.

 Management reacts

The Dean of Students Affairs Prof Mode, has reacted to the students’ plight.

Prof Mode described the process of vetting of results as ‘too cumbersome’, noting that the essence is to protect both students and management from being exploited.

Mode further absolved his unit and by extension management of the delay of results. He explianed that what management does is to receive the results from the Senate and mobilise the students for NYSC.

He said: “Students’ Affairs is only concerned with NYSC. We don’t have control over results.

“Students’ Affairs is not concerned with compilation of result. When a student gets his/her result, it’s then he will fill form for NYSC. However, you should know we have more than 70 programmes and it has to be done one after the other because that is how results are being processed. Every student of this university will go through a process that ensures both the university and the management are not cheated.”

Also speaking, the Dean Faculty of Science, A.D Bakko, told CAMPUSLIFE that the results of the graduating students have been sent to the Senate for vetting and approval since January.

Like Mode, Bakko equally absolved management of the delay in mobilising the graduates.

Defending himself, he said: “We have sent the list of the graduating students to the Senate for vetting and approval since December 2019, but I don’t know the cause of delay in notification of results and mobilisation of graduates after we have done our part.”

Meanwhile, the university’s Director of Examination Dr Musa Yelwa Abubakar, said the procedure for vetting and approval of results are not as easy as students thought.

“As far as we are concerned,” Abubaka began, “there is no delay in notification of results. The process (for the vetting) is that if the faculty is done with results, it will ensure all results are uploaded. The lecturer will submit the results to be compiled by the department that will meet to consider the result for moderation.

“Once they are done, the department will send it to be considered at faculty level; and once that’s done, final year results will have to be sent outside for moderation by external moderators.

“Afterwards, the results are uploaded. Once that is done, the Senate will bring it to Academic Office that will send it for vetting to ensure that those courses students registered for are enough to forestal complications with the results.

“It will then be sent back to the Academic Office which will compile everything together. We will thereafter meet at the Senate Bureau of Examination where the results will be forwarded to the vice chancellor for approval.”

Source: The Nation ng