Admission fraud rocks UNIUYO • It’s ‘cash and carry’ —Parents •VC: It’s sheer blackmail

DISTRAUGHT parents have protested the inability of their children to gain admission into the University of Uyo for the 2017/2018 session, alleging that the admissionprocedure is grossly “manipulated”.

They accused the vice chancellor of the institution, Professor Enefiok Essien, of “putting the admission (on) sale to the highest bidder,” and thus erecting “deliberate barriers” on the way of candidates who cannot afford the price.

Speaking in an interview at the weekend, some parents flayed the vice chancellor, whom they accused of making the UNIUYO admission a cash-and-carry affair at a price running from “between N200,000 and N250,000 for students who failed to land their admissions on merit.”

“The VC is using his wife as an agent to collect as much as N200,000 and N250,000, to sell admission slots to candidates who fell short of the admission requirement,” one of the parents alleged.

But the vice chancellor, a Professor of Commercial Law, at the weekend denied the allegation, saying “it was a calculated attempt to blackmail me.”

He insisted that the admissionprocedure was strictly adhered to in line with the prescriptions of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Professor Essien said, “The NUC gives admission quota based on existing facilities and staff strength, in line with the Admission Processing System (CAPS) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

“The admission is based on merit, catchment area and special recommendation, which the university has strictly adhered to.

“My wife has never played any role in the admission of new students into the university. If you have any proof, one should be bold enough to present it. If you bring one person that says he gave one naira for his child to be admitted, then I am prepared to lose my job.”

He advised parents “to seriously train their children in their various levels of education in order to gainadmission on merit, to avoid any underhand dealings to secure admissions through the backdoor.”

Essien said, “When I was a student, my father only learnt that I had secured admission. He never came to the university for anything until my day of convocation.”

The vice chancellor explained that those candidates who fall within the category of ‘special recommendations’ were recommended and reassigned for alternative programmes without any extra charges.

He urged parents to monitor the activities of their children in order to effectively address the challenges ahead of their future.