- They’re lying – NOUN source
From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Some frustrated students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have accused the institution of collecting money for the production of hard copies of course materials without being given.
Some of them who spoke anonymously alleged that the situation is the same in all the NOUN campuses, with Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna campuses being notorious for the act.
According to one of them, “What we are paying for is hard copy. But if you are lucky, out of the nine you paid for, you may get one or two.
“This practice has been going on for a long time but students are afraid of confronting these people because of peculiarity in the Nigerian education system.
“I have heard it from different students from different campuses of NOUN across the country and it is very unfortunate.
“If you calculate the number of students studying in NOUN, you will have an idea of how much these people are collecting for course registration without course materials.
“So we are appealing to relevant agencies like the National University Commission, the Federal Ministry of Education, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to go and verify this claim”, one of the students said.
But in a swift reaction, a credible but unofficial source in the University denied the allegation, describing it as “lies”.
“They are lying. There is no how those courses would have been accredited without course materials.
“We have these course materials in different formats; we have them in hard copy in the form of textbooks like you said, we have them in soft copy online, and we also have them in flash drives and compact discs.
“All is to allow students to go for what suits them. So, they are not telling you the truth”, the source said.
However, a student argued that what they paid for was hard copies in the form of textbooks and that they were not getting from their respective campuses.
“If you are talking about the availability of the course materials online, why should I pay for it if anyone, whether you are a student or not, can have access to it?
“Just pick up your phone and try it online. You will see that anybody can have access to these course materials. I think they are the ones not telling you the truth”, the student disagreed.