Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
The management of Bowen University situated at Iwo town in Osun State has reopened the institution for academic activities has it has ordered its students to report back to campus on Saturday January 5, 2019.
According to a statement addressed to the parents/guardians and students, dated December 20, 2018 and signed by the institution’s Registrar, Dr. Kayode A. Ogunleye, the academic activities for the first semester, 2018/2019 session would resume on 5 January, 2019.
According to the information gathered, the students would resume under water tight security as the parents would be asked to drop their wards at the entrance gate of the institution, where the vehicles stationed at the gates would convey the students to their hostels.
The students are to start their first semester’s examination on Tuesday January 8, 2019 and are expected to finish on Friday January 18, 2019.
However, all the students have been mandated to pay a ‘reparation’ fee of N3, 500 as a prerequisite for resumption and whosoever refuse to pay will not be allowed into the premises of the institution as well as not going to be allowed to sit for the first semester’s examination.
It was gathered that initially, the school authority asked the parents and guardians of the students to pay N5000 but when appealed to, reduced it to N3, 500.
However, some parents are not happy with the ‘reparation’ fee since it was not all the students that were involved in the drug issue and the school said initially that school property were not destroyed apart from a mattress that was burnt in one of the boys’ hostel.
According to the statement, students who have outstanding fees for the first semester will not be allowed to sit for examinations adding, “Students are required to download a form labelled ‘Student Undertaking to be of Good Behaviour’ from the University website, complete the form and submit at their halls of residence on resumption.
“Students are equally required to download a form labeled ‘Letter of Agreement by Parent/Guardian’ from the University website, give their parents/guardians to sign and submit at their halls of residence on resumption.
“Students are to note that evidence of payment of the reparation fee is a requirement for issuance of examination card for the first semester examinations. Students without duly completed ‘Student Undertaking to be of Good Behaviour’ and ‘Letter of Agreement by Parent/Guardian’ shall not be allowed into the halls of residence”.
It would be recalled that the authority of the institution, owned by the Nigerian Baptist Convention on December 3, 2018 shut down the school and evicted all the students from the school within few hours following a crisis that ensued in the school as a result of the suspension of some students found taking hard drug and other offences.
The abrupt closure of the institution disrupted its academic calendar as the school could not hold its first semester’s exam slated for between Monday December 10, 2018 and Friday December 21, 2018.
The students were expected to proceed on break on Saturday December 22, 2018 and resume for the second semester on January 5, 2019.
However, the calendar has been rearranged for the students to resume back to school on January 5, 2019 and start the first semester on January 8 and finish on January 18, 2019 for the second semester to commence January 25, 2019.