Following petitions and call for the sack of the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe, the Africa Centre for Education Rights and Advocacy has called on the Federal government to disregard such calls and rather look into the achievements of administrators especially the accused Vice-Chancellor.
A statement by the Centre’s Regional President, Dr Abayomi Ogundele, the centre condemned such calls and added that the students were ignorant of the towering image of the University both at home and abroad in providing quantitative and qualitative education to all seekers of education with ease and flexibility.
The statement also stated that the petition was the handiwork of people who were not bona fide students of the institution but acting under the auspices of NOUN students congress.
“The centre frowns at the recent behaviour of the students acting under the auspices of NOUN students congress as jobless persons who were expelled from other Univeristies in Nigeria and hiding under the non-exiting platform to cause confusion who he said should not be taken seriously at any point in time”
He Insisted that the management has lived above board in the discharge of their duties to both students and the country and should not be distracted at this critical point that President Muhammadu Buhari is out to restore its lost glory.
Ogundele said the Centre into the matter because as an advocacy and enlightenment unit in the educational sector, it is aware that the University has maintained the highest level of accountability and transparency both to students and the Federal Government in handling public funds.
It thus wondered why these set of students would plan to physically assault the Vice Chancellor and his team.
Abayomi added that the institution under the present leadership currently hosts highly reputable Nigerians and foreigners like former President Olusegun Obasanjo who successfully completed his studies recently and implored the general public to “disregard these charlatans who have refused to acquit themselves with modern technology and ICT innovations that are being deployed by the University for world class learning that have earned them their pride of place on the Africa continent”
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The statement however noted that nigerians are obviously happy that the University is the bastion of the current change mantra as the first institution to checkmate extortion of students, bribe for high marks, sexual harassment, examination malpractice and cultism.
