The management of the University of Ibadan on Tuesday handed over four more members of staff of its Distance Learning Centre to the Department of State Services for questioning over alleged examination malpractices at the centre.
The Director of Communications of the institution, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, told The PUNCH on the telephone that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, had given a directive that the DLC officials be thoroughly investigated.
Oladejo said, “The university’s zero tolerance for any form of examination malpractice is very dear to the management. Just today, the management asked the DSS to whisk away four non-teaching staff in the centre. They are not UI lecturers but workers in the centre.
“The exercise will continue until all the culprits are brought to book.
“Remember that the VC, Prof. Olayinka, had last week ordered the arrest of six workers in connection with the issue. They were said to have been released on bail on Monday after spending five days in the DSS custody.”
When asked about the identities of the latest suspects, Oladejo said the DSS would prefer not to release their names in order not to jeopardise the ongoing investigation.
With the latest development, the non-teaching staff members are now 10 under the DSS investigation.
They were accused of smuggling scripts to students writing examinations, fabrication of Computer Based Test results; falsification of clearance, mostly for students who had disciplinary cases, among others.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities of the university had said no single academic staff was involved in the examination malpractices.
The Chairman, UI ASUU, Prof. Deji Omole, while reacting to some newspaper reports said those arrested by the DSS were members of non-academic staff in the technical unit of the DLC.
Also, the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, Mr Wale Akinremi, told our correspondent he had yet to have details of the affected members of staff.
Omole, while reacting to some newspaper reports, said those arrested by the DSS were non-academic staff members in the technical unit of the DLC.
Omole berated the Director of Public Communications of the University, Olatunji Oladejo, who some papers attributed the story to, for allegedly misinforming the public.
Omole maintained that the academic staff had not been linked to the fraud and no one should drag them into it.
The ASUU boss stated that the union was not against punishing anyone linked to the fraud.
Omole added that ASUU had a standing committee on ethics and standard dealing with ethical and unethical issues.
He said it would not take it lightly when its members were wrongly accused.
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