The Management of Edo State-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU) has blamed mischief makers and politicians
enmeshed in the chatter of impious politics around September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State for the recent students unrest in the institution.
Head of the University’s Corporate Communication and Protocol, Otunba Mike Aladenika disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Weekend in the State.
Aladenika alleged that behind the misleading viral video of closure of the institution, which turned out to be false were mischief makers masquerading as politicians in the state.
He admitted that In the early hours of Thursday the 6th of June 2024, some students went to lock up the entrance gate to the main campus of the University in the name of protest.
He explained that the recent protest by some students who either ran foul of the University’s regulations or caught up in academic trance and other related issues have been resolved by school’s Management.
“There were mainly two groups of students involved in the protest. These were the students who failed to register for their courses in the already concluded 2022/2023 academic session, and students from the Faculty of Law who could not attain the minimum CGPA of 3.0 to proceed to the next Level of study as prescribed by the Faculty of Law Academic Board of Studies and as earlier approved by the University Senate to ensure compliance with the quota provisions of the Council for Legal Education.
“The students affected by these rules were less than three hundred (300) compared to the over twenty-seven thousand that make up the student population of the University”, according to Aladenika.
He further noted that
declaring that sessional or semester registration is what qualifies anyone to retain/maintain his/her studentship in any tertiary institution anywhere in the world.
He lamented that “it was appalling to read variously in some sections of the media that the students were protesting against the “obnoxious policies of the Adagbonyin-led University Administration.
He explained that the University’s Management, among others, compelled majority of them to be transfered to other Departments via introduction of proceeding list, which aggrieved students claimed was oppressive, unknown to the law, rules and regulations of the University.
On the minimum CGPA of 3.0 approved by the University’s Senate for the students of the Faculty of Law, Aladenika also clarified that every decision of the Ambrose Alli University Senate is usually reached after a very robust debate and by consensus.
He said, “All members of Senate, including some of those who have now been exposed as the internal sponsors of the Media attack on the University, were part of these decisions”.
“I want to emphasise that the decisions are not Management’s or Adagbonyin’s “policies” but the decisions of Senate, and they were properly taken in the interest of our University and our students’ academic development and progress.
The contending issues were discussed and resolved by Senate and have been adequately publicised by the University. The gates of our University remain open and there is calm.
“Some politicians bolstered by internal and external conspirators have cashed in on the brief protest by some of the students to make cheap political Capital out of it”, Aladenika said.
The University’s spokesman however advised those who are beating drums of war to set the University on fire because of the coming elections and their personal ambitions to look elsewhere.
“To continue to describe the University as “crisis-ridden”, de-market it and undermine the tireless efforts of the present management all in the name of politics are acts that will not take anyone very far in the long run”.
“But I just have this one plea for some of our Edo politicians, as well as their internal and external conspirators who do not want to let peace reign in Ambrose Alli University: Let AAU breathe!”.
“No University kills its students; Universities will only make policies for the advancement of knowledge and the sustenance of high academic standards for global competitiveness”, Aladenika said.
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AAU blames politicians for students unrest
The Management of Edo State-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU) have blamed politicians
enmeshed in the chatter of impious politics around September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State for the recent students unrest in the institution.
Head of the University’s Corporate Communication and Protocol, Otunba Mike Aladenika disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Weekend in the State.
Aladenika alleged that behind the misleading viral video of closure of its the institution, which turned out to be false.
He admitted that In the early hours of Thursday the 6th of June 2024, some students went to lock up the entrance gate to the main campus of the University in the name of protest.
He explained that the recent protest by some students who either ran foul of the University’s regulations or caught up in academic trance and other related issues have been resolved by school’s Management.
“There were mainly two groups of students involved in the protest. These were the students who failed to register for their courses in the already concluded 2022/2023 academic session, and students from the Faculty of Law who could not attain the minimum CGPA of 3.0 to proceed to the next Level of study as prescribed by the Faculty of Law Academic Board of Studies and as earlier approved by the University Senate to ensure compliance with the quota provisions of the Council for Legal Education.
“The students affected by these rules were less than three hundred (300) compared to the over twenty-seven thousand that make up the student population of the University”, according to Aladenika.
He further noted that
declaring that sessional or semester registration is what qualifies anyone to retain/maintain his/her studentship in any tertiary institution anywhere in the world.
He lamented that “it was appalling to read variously in some sections of the media that the students were protesting against the “obnoxious policies of the Adagbonyin-led University Administration.
He explained that the University’s Management among others compelled majority of them to be transfered to other Departments via introduction of proceeding list, which aggrieved students claimed was oppressive, unknown to the law, rules and regulations of the University.
On the minimum CGPA of 3.0 approved by the University’s Senate for the students of the Faculty of Law, Aladenika also clarified that every decision of the Ambrose Alli University Senate is usually reached after a very robust debate and by consensus.
According to him, “All members of Senate, including some of those who have now been exposed as the internal sponsors of the Media attack on the University, were part of these decisions”.
“I want to emphasise that the decisions are not Management’s or Adagbonyin’s “policies” but the decisions of Senate, and they were properly taken in the interest of our University and our students’ academic development and progress.
The contending issues were discussed and resolved by Senate and have been adequately publicised by the University. The gates of our University remain open and there is calm.
“I request anyone who is in doubt to visit the University and see that the reality here is different from what the reports are saying out there.
“Some politicians bolstered by internal and external conspirators have cashed in on the brief protest by some of the students to make cheap political Capital out of it”, Aladenika said.
The University’s sportsman however advised those who are beating drums of war to set the University on fire because of the coming elections and their personal ambitions to look elsewhere.
“To continue to describe the University as “crisis-ridden”, de-market it and undermine the tireless efforts of the present management all in the name of politics are acts that will not take anyone very far in the long run”.
“But I just have this one plea for some of our Edo politicians, as well as their internal and external conspirators who do not want to let peace reign in Ambrose Alli University: Let AAU breathe!”.
“No University kills its students; Universities will only make policies for the advancement of knowledge and the sustenance of high academic standards for global competitiveness”, Aladenika said.
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