UNIBEN to bar 5,000 students from exams over unpaid fees

Not less than 5000 students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) risk being barred from writing the second semester examinations scheduled to begin on Monday, 29 September, over failure to pay school charges.

In a memo by the Registrar of the institution, Ademola Bobola, the university announced the strict enforcement of its “no payment of school charges, no examination” policy, insisting that repeated reminders to defaulters had been ignored.

Despite repeated reminders, Mr Bobola said the university management has received the list of students who have failed to pay their school charges.

“These students have also failed to subscribe to students’ loans being provided by the Nigerian Education Students’ Loan Fund (NELFUND),” he said.

The registrar said all efforts to encourage the affected students to pay their fees or access the NELFUND facility yielded no positive response.

“With the second semester examination set to begin on Monday, 29 September, these students shall be barred from writing the examination, if they fail to pay their school charges, or subscribe to the students’ loan by NELFUND,” he said.

The registrar disclosed that the Senate had directed Provosts, Deans, Directors, and Heads of Departments to publish the list of all defaulters by 8 a.m. on Monday.

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According to him, this is to enable affected students to confirm their status and make last-minute payments before examinations commence.

According to him, an enforcement task force, headed by the deputy vice chancellor (Academic), has also been set up to monitor and ensure strict compliance with the directive.
“Management expects full cooperation and compliance by all stakeholders to maintain the university’s high standards,” he stated.

(NAN)