In the late 2007, Full Time (FT) students of St Augustine’s College of Education (SACOED), Akoka, took to the street to press home for their demand over National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) disparity, and it paid as the school management had no choice than to respond to the students demand. And also having trampled upon their students right. Though this led to the closure of the institution for months.
Today, the school management is on it again, but now on the Part-Time (PT) students. The PT students are yet to collect their letter of exemption, which equals them to their FT counterparts NYSC discharge certificate. Also in the list is the degree certificate. SACOED remain the only institution that is affiliated to University of Ibadan where students pay hundreds of thousand per session, and yet the management is not meeting up to the students demand. Also begging for explanation is the seeming icy silence on the part of the Catholic church, who established the school. Must students engage in violent act before SACOED management respond to their right? It is on the above premise that we the graduates of SACOED in affiliation to UI are calling for those who are in charge to immediately respond, as we have paid all the necessary fees that is in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the aforementioned certificate. It’s our right and must not be delayed. Some of us have been denied employment in the labour market, and also denied fulfilment of our post graduate studies, as a result of this delay of issuance of exemption certificate.
We are matured and our mellowness should not be taken for cowardice, for if we take to the street as our FT counterparts did some years back, it will be more sinister than expected. If you have searched for a job in Nigeria, you would attest to how tedious the exercise can be, so seeing letter of exemption denying you such job is a tragedy, and will forever leave a post traumatic stress disorder or recurring experience of ugly encounter.
Do the right thing now that the ovation is loudest for violence is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Those of us that passed through this school did not find it easy. We paid through our nose. While our mates in other institutions were enjoying a subsidised school fees, reverse was the case as ours was ‘the higher you go, the higher you pay’ type. There was no level that students did not drop as a result of the sky rocketting school fees. Now that we are set to reap the fruit of our labour, they should be no delay in issuing us all the requirements for the award of our degree. UI since its approval are not known for this. Why must ours be different. We are not second class citizens but bonafide graduates of UI.
Our mates in the other UI affiliated institutes: River state College of Education, Osun state College of Education, and Tai Solarin College of Education are not delayed this way, and yet their school fees is far less than what we are paying/paid. Even our FT counterparts, here, are issued NYSC discharge certificate at the completion of their service. This disparity must be stopped. Enough of playing second fiddle. This is a catholic established school and should be treated as such. A citadel of civility joins in corrupting morality without circumspection of its result! Project TIME an institution for moral training should live by example.
The content of this message is clear. Issue our certificate of exemption now, we are tired of parading our statement of result in the labour market, and finally do the right thing now that the cloud is gathering before it will be accompanied by a thunderstorm.
a concerned graduate of SACOED.
Hope this is not another way of extorting money from students? A school that students pay hundreds of thousand per session should not waste time to issue certificate as obtained in order schools. Those management should be visited by EFCC.
Imagine other affiliated institute to UI paying far less than what is paid in SACOED, and yet issuing their certificate faster! And here reverse is the case. Those managing the school should be held to serve as detterent to others.