EKSU sacks six lecturers, Rusticates 300 Students

Authorities of the Ekiti State University, EKSU, Ado-Ekiti, have relieved six academic staff of their appointments for plagiarism, fraudulent practices and sèxual harassment.

 

The institution’s Deputy Registrar, Information, Mr. Ajibade Olubunmi, said in a statement that the list included three senior academic staff who were dismissed for manipulating examination scores, plagiarism and failure to serve the university after being sponsored abroad.

 

Olubunmi said the institution’s Governing Council, following the recommendations of the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee, also approved the termination of the appointments of three other academic staff for gross academic misconduct, falsification of employment records and sèxual harassment.

 

The Olokuta Medium Security Prison in Akure, Ondo State, which recorded a jailbreak, yesterday. He said the university also expelled 24 students “found guilty of committing offences ranging from examination misconduct to being members of unregistered associations in the university”.

Olubunmi, who said the students’ expulsion was confirmed by the management after due process which included appearance before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee, added that “also, over 300 students have been rusticated for one session over examination misconduct”.

 

The Registrar, Dr. Omojola Awosusi, said the dismissal of a randy lecturer for sèxual harassment was a warning signal to the university community that genderbased violence would not be treated with levity.

 

Awosusi told the Genderbased Violence Prohibition Law, GBVL, Management Committee, delegation which was on advocacy visit, that legal encumbrance was a major challenge frustrating the institution’s resolve to deal with errant students and lecturers found culpable of sèxual harassment.

The registrar told the delegation led by the wife of the fovernor and Chairperson of the committee, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, and Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs. Fola Richie-Adewusi, that another attempted rape of a nonacademic staff was nipped in the bud when sympathisers were attracted to the scene by shouts from the victim.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina, assured the GBVL management committee of the institution’s preparedness to domesticate the law, adding that the university had established a centre for gender studies in the same regard.

 

Aina said that apart from strengthening the internal security of the university, hostel accommodation would soon be available for female students to protect them from prowling predators.