Students of Imo State University (IMSU) have been placed in a difficult position as the university’s lecturers, under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), declared that they will not grade or evaluate examination scripts written during the ongoing strike.
The warning has raised fresh concerns over the validity of examinations currently being conducted at the institution, with the union urging students to think carefully before participating.
The ASUU chairman of the IMSU branch, Stephen Oguji, made the position known in a statement issued to journalists in Owerri on Saturday.
Oguji said the union was opposed to the conduct of examinations while its members remained on strike, arguing that lecturers responsible for teaching, assessing and grading students were not involved in setting the examinations currently being administered.
According to him, the union would not participate in evaluating the scripts or determining the academic outcomes of students who sit for the examinations.
The union’s position puts students in a particularly difficult situation.
While refusing to participate in the examinations could carry its own academic implications, Oguji said ASUU did not want students to jeopardise their academic progress.
“We do not wish students to jeopardize their examinations. We do not want them to lose their academic session, most importantly, we do not want them to graduate through a process whose credibility may later be questioned,” he said.
He maintained that ASUU’s concern was not about preventing students from graduating but ensuring that any graduation process followed an academically credible procedure.
Oguji argued that the lecturers who normally handle students’ instruction, assessment and grading were currently observing the strike and therefore could not authenticate examinations being conducted during the industrial action.
ASUU shifts focus to government
Rather than directing their anger at lecturers, Oguji urged students to look towards the authorities capable of resolving the issues behind the strike.
He said the union’s dispute was ultimately aimed at improving the university system and securing better conditions for both lecturers and students.
“Dear Students, your true adversaries are not the lecturers. We are advocating for an educational system that functions effectively for you, for us and future generations,” he said.
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Oguji therefore appealed to students to join ASUU in calling on the Imo State Government to implement what he described as the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU on university funding.
He urged students to engage with those in positions of authority and demand action that would bring the strike to an end.
“Therefore, instead of opposing your lecturers, join forces with us. Engage with those who possess the authority to resolve this crisis. Urge the government to implement the agreement and bring an end to the strike,” he added.
Lecturers say they want to return to classrooms
Despite the ongoing disagreement, the IMSU ASUU chairman said lecturers were eager to return to their classrooms.
He maintained that the union would prefer to see students write examinations under normal academic conditions, with their lecturers involved in teaching, assessment and grading.
Oguji appealed to the relevant authorities to implement the agreement at the centre of the dispute, saying doing so would address concerns over the working conditions of university lecturers.
