Nigerian university expels 485 students; more will follow

The Federal University, Dutse (FUD) Jigawa State, has expelled 485 students for poor academic performance and sundry offences.

The affected students were drawn from all the academic departments in the university. The management said more students would be axed soon.

”More students will soon be expelled for participating in examination malpractice, we’re waiting for the outcome of a committee report that is currently checking the cases of examination malpractice,” deputy vice-chancellor academics, Abdulkarim Sabo Mohammed told journalists on Friday.

He said the university followed the ”National University Commission’s guidelines before arriving at the decision”.

Mr Mohammad, who spoke on behalf of the university’s vice-chancellor, Fatima Muktar, said the guidelines of the NUC indicate how ”to promote students, withdrawal, expulsion or granting of probation.”

He said a committee had been set up to check the cases of examination malpractice, in order to punish students involved.

”We have to prove that through a rigorous investigation before we can conclude that a student is guilty of the crime.

“The university has over 6000 students, the number of the expelled students is exceptionally high this year because, in the course of checking our results, we noticed that there are students who have overstayed their ‘residence’, they are supposed to have graduated yet they (have) lived in the campus for more than six years.

“The action was taken to sanitise the system in the university. Next year, the number will not be so because this year we checked our results thoroughly, that’s why the number is higher,” the professor explained.

He also said any student who feels that his/her dismissal is unjustified can come forward to appeal the decision, which he added had no ethnic colouration.

”The university is open to receive complaints. Anyone that was dismissed based on error or omission, we can bring them back (reinstate) to continue with their studies.

“I want to correct an insinuation going round that majority of the expelled students are from Jigawa State. It’s not true, the university is an intellectual society, we’re not here to victimise anybody.

“The students of the university are from the catchment areas of Kano, Kaduna, Plateau and other places. That claim is not true. The university is a federal institution, we don’t have favouritism for any ethics group.”