Protests As 10 UI Students Collapse in Exam Hall

About 10 students of the University of Ibadan collapsed in the examination hall on Sunday, forcing some of their colleagues to assault officials of the university’s Distance Learning Centre (DLC). A student said poor arrangement on the part of the organizers of the programme, was responsible for the incident.

He said each of the DLC students, paid over ₦118,000 per session, arguing that they deserve being treated properly.

He explained that the chaotic situation occurred at the Adebayo Akande hall, Ajibode, where different batches of students, were to sit for GES 101 examination, starting from 9am.

“About 10 students actually collapsed, and were immediately rushed to Jaja Clinic (the university health centre),” the student said.

TheCable report continues:

“Security, CSO, and DLC officials were stoned by the angry DLC students. The truth is that they are just toying with the lives of the DLC students. They have the newly-constructed DLC computer based testing (CBT) centre in the faculty of technology but they are not using it.

“This is because they benefit more when the contract is out to other private CBT centres. It is not fair at all.”

Professor Bayo Okunade, Director of the Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan

But Bayo Okunade, a professor and director of the distance learning centre, disagreed with that, blaming the situation on some of the students.

“Students were supposed to come in batches. We batched them and they were supposed to come at specific time, instead, all of them came virtually the same time and they wanted to get access when it was not even their turn,” he told TheCable.

“For the first time, for the fact that we want best practices, students finish their exams and they see their results immediately. One of the students that collapsed was to write his exam at two o’clock, he found himself at that situation at 12 o’clock. He came earlier than necessary.

“I was the University Health Centre to access the situation, and before 12pm, there were six students. There was a lady from social work department who confessed that she discharged herself from a hospital where she was being treated for typhoid.”

Okunade added that the university had put in measure to check such occurrences in future.

ODL VANGUARD: We Must Professionalize Distance Learning —Don Insists

NEWS EXPRESS report on 26/06/2014

The Distance Learning Centre of the University of Ibadan has inaugurated the ODL VANGUARD in its bid to further sensitise its students on the practice of mainstream Open Distance Learning (ODL). The event held recently at the DLC auditorium, Morohundiya Complex, Idi-Ose, Ibadan.

Speaking on the rationale at the inauguration ceremony, the Director of the Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, Professor Bayo Okunade, explained that the event was meant to drive a new change, lay a foundational knowledge which would create awareness and soften more of the problems the centre is encountering currently, adding that the centre is currently driving a globalization in a hostile and local environment, in order to getting to where it wants to be in the nearest future.

He added: “This is a virtual tertiary education, and we are trying our best to constitute a nucleus that would expand with time. At the same time, we hope to have immediate impact amongst our students as we believe this is a global platform we are trying to beat. We must professionalize distance learning.”

The Chairman, DLC Quality Assurance Committee, Dr. Ben Emunemu, in his remarks, encouraged the students to avail themselves of the opportunities offered by information communication technology and social network platforms to update themselves as the centre is revolutionizing its operations. His words: “In the 21st Century, we have to be familiar with facilities that would enable us operate in the mainstream of ODL. There is nothing bad if our students are ahead of their lecturers because we think there should not be only quality of teaching but of personal learning as well.

“We want UI ODL to be outstanding, and we want our students to maximally key into the offer this platform would render.”

Following were questions, reactions and comments which were however entertained from the participants, and answers supplied by the Director.