•Says preventing her from writing exam is unacceptable
By Gabriel Dike
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has condemned the harassment of a female student of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) over alleged improper dressing during an exam.
ERC in a statement signed by the Deputy National Coordinator Isaac Ogunjinmi and National Mobilisation Officer, Adaramoye Michael, said stopping the female from writing her exams was unacceptable.
“Our attention been drawn to a video making the rounds on social media where some officials of the Garki center of NOUN were seen harassing a female student over what they claimed to be an indecent dressing. Sadly, these overzealous officials denied this student, Miss Cassandra Michael, access to the examination hall.
“We condemn this act as it constitutes an infringement on the rights of the student. More so, these officials were inconsiderate of the threat their actions posed to the academic life of the student. Today, many who saw the video and the dress of the affected lady are still baffled as to how such can be tagged an ‘indecent dressing,” ERC stated.
The duo said case of Miss Cassandra demonstrates how the attempt by university authorities to assume the role of a moral police can be damaging to students. The group said NOUN action also shows how indecent dressing rules can be abused and weaponized by unscrupulous officials to get back at any student, who does not catch their fancy.
It added:”For us in the ERC, students must be free to dress the way they deem fit, as it is part of their freedom of expression. Any decree or rules by any institution, limiting how students can dress is an attack on the fundamental rights of students.
“Of course we recognise that some students can dress in ways that may inconvenient others including their colleagues. In this instance, discussion and persuasion rather than use of decrees and force should be the first line of action.”
The group stated in a clear term that a university is not a jungle, neither it is a military barracks, arguing, “at no time should denying a student their right to write exams be seen as an acceptable response to what is no more than a misdeamenor.”
ERC demanded an immediate and open investigation into the issue by an independent probe panel made up of elected representatives of students, staff and the university community to ensure that the perpetrators of the act do not go unpunished.
It further demanded that Miss Cassandra Michael should be allowed to resit for her examination without any bias against her or any student.
“We are well aware that NOUN is not the only institution where authorities have mandated this attack on the rights of students. This is why we are calling for an end to the restrictions on students’ dressing.
Tertiary institutions are faced with myriads of problems, none of which can be attributed to how students decide to dress. There is no connection between how students dress and the collapsing state of public education, which ought to be the major concern of authorities,” ERC explained.