OMG!!! Central University Withdraws 695 Students

Six hundred and ninety-five unqualified students who were admitted by the Central University College (CUC) to pursue various degree programmes this academic year have been withdrawn.

That followed an order from the National Accreditation Board (NAB) which ensures that standards set by the National council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) are adhered to. The students did not obtain grade C6 or less in one, two or all three of the core subjects of Mathematics, English and Integrated Science or Social Studies in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Even though the CUC knew the students did not qualify, it admitted them on condition that they would re-write their examinations and better their grades within two of the four years they were required to complete their degree programmes.

The students had paid fees to the university, some as much as GH¢1,600, and had begun lectures before the NAB order. The Executive Secretary of the NAB, Mr. Kwame Dattey, told the Daily Graphic in Accra on Monday, February 6, 2012 that the requirements were not new and that the board had continuously educated the universities on those requirements.

He said it was true that private universities were playing an invaluable role in the educational sector but insisted that the right thing must be done. Mr. Dattey said the board’s auditing team would continue to inspect tertiary institutions to make sure that they complied with the regulations set out by the NCTE.

The Head of the Public Relations Unit of the CUC, Mrs. Laila Boafo-Foleson, said the university was taking some measures to mitigate the impact of the decision on the affected students. She said students who wanted a refund of their fees were to apply for them, while those who did not were to be given an option.

She said the university was to sponsor a special mitigation programme that would provide the affected students the opportunity to expeditiously remedy their poor grades and explained that the programme was to begin on February 20, this year and run until November 2012 when students would sit the remedial. “The full cost of tuition for the programme is to be borne by the university,” she said. Mrs. Boafo-Foleson said the university would also credit the first semester results of the affected students to them, adding that students who succeeded in redeeming their grades would resume their programmes of study in the second semester of the 2012/13 academic.

One of the affected students whom the Daily Graphic spoke with said he was devastated by the development and had yet to decide what to do.
He said he dreaded the “plenty talking my parents are going to do all all over again because I did not pass in Maths”.

Source: Daily Graphic