Open University post graduate students threaten protest.

Post graduate students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), have threatened to stage a mass protest if the institution refused to suspend its ‘No 3.0 GP, no graduation policy’.

The students called on the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and the Executive Secretary; National University Commission, Abdulrashid Abubakar to direct management; of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to suspend the”no 3.0 GP, no graduation policy”.

They however called on the Vice Chancellor and Senate of NOUN to commence the; process of releasing results and certificate of the affected students to enable them pursue their; academic future with institutions of their choice.

This was indicated in a press statement titled: “Call on Open University of Nigeria to suspend the ‘No 3.0 GP, No Graduation Policy’ or face students mass protest” Tony Christian and made available to Daily Trust, in Abuja, Monday.

According to the statement, the institution should be; made to explain why it chose to conceal the policy from students at the point of admission, only to impose it on them at the point of graduation.

The statement reads: “While it is; a common knowledge that the policy is; nothing but a deliberate scheme by NOUN to up its IGR- it was however; not surprising that all students affected by the policy were deliberately made to fail some courses; in a bid by the institution to generate funds from payments arising from re-registration of carried- over courses.

“Yet, after writing these carried-over courses, with no outstanding course and scored at least 2.5 GP, it is baffling that NOUN has refused to graduate these students on the ground that they did not meet its 3.0 GP benchmark.

“In the history of Nigeria’s education system, it is; unheard of that the certificate of a post graduate student was being withheld on account of the status of his or her GP.  The standard rule is; either a student passed or failed. Whichever way it goes; it is; within the right of the student to be issued either certificate of graduation or attendance. No law or policy of any university is; empowered to do otherwise.

It is therefore alien that a post graduate student who has no outstanding course and scored at least 2.5 GP, which is; by universal grading (second class lower), is; denied certificate of graduation because he or she did not score up to 3.0 GP-which is; still within the range of second class lower”. The statement added.