National Open University N20,000 re-mark fee ‘extortion’ — Students

The students of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have accused the school of extortion after the institution announced a N20,000 fee per course to remark their missing examination scripts.

According to the announcement on its website, the school will set up a three man committee to re-mark the scripts after receiving the payment.

“The 3 Man Committee will be made up of the Head of Unit and two other experts other than those that marked the Script initially. Re- marking shall be completed within two weeks and returned to the University Examinations Committee by the School,” the school said.

“The new score awarded shall be approved by the Dean of the School on behalf of the School’s Academic Board which brings it to the notice of the University Examinations Committee.”

The school, however, failed to justify the N20, 000 fee it made mandatory for the students.

Expressing their dismay and disappointment at the ugly development, students from centres including Community Study Centre in Awa-Ijebu, NOUN Special Study Centre for the Nigerian Army, study centres in Ibadan, Gombe, Dutse, Bauchi, Sokoto, Oyo, Osogbo and Lagos told PREMIUM TIMES that the non-release of results affect mostly students who rounded up their undergraduate programme with the institution in July 2018.

One of the students in Community Study Centre in Emevor, Delta States who spoke with our reporter said the withheld results have caused setbacks in the academic pursuit of intending graduates of the school.

“We have been on this since October. We wrote to the university as regards our withheld result. Rather than respond on necessary steps to take, we only realised that the ‘school made an announcement on its portal, an unfriendly one’. I have finished and submitted my project but could not find the result,” the student said.

Another student at the Osogbo Centre, Mutiu Alimi, told our correspondent that the institution refused to give reasonable reasons on why they are charging the students to re-mark their scripts.

“For the university not to have seen my script after writing exam sounds ridiculous. Asking Student to pay N20, 000 makes the case worse. We hope the public can help demand justice from the university.”

Another student, who simply identified herself as Queen, said: “the best I can think of now is how the university will listen to our plea. I don’t have any money. I followed the laid down procedure to communicate my plight. If this issue is not attended to, many of us risks extra year as the opportunity to re-register the course closed since October.”

A student of Computer Science at the Marina centre in Lagos said: “My result CIIT411, CIT425, CIT427 and CIT445 are not compiled. So, I have to pay N80, 000 to solve the issue. This is sad.”

Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to seek clarification on what the payment is meant for, from the University, were unsuccessful as all telephone numbers provided on the school’s portal did not go through.

Also, the emails sent to the university were also not replied a week after.