Certificate collection: We don’t extort our students, says LASU

The Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has refuted a report by an online newspaper, claiming that the university is extorting money, amounting to millions of Naira, from 2019/2020 graduating set for purpose of collecting their certificates.

The school also debunked another allegation by the same newspaper that it is flouting the COVID-19 protocols in the process of issuing certificates to graduates physically present on campus.

The university said both allegations were completely a falsehood.

Coordinator of the university’s Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations, Mr Ademola Adekoya, debunked both claims in a statement, saying the university would not have bothered to react to the publication but for purpose of putting the records straight so as not to misinform the public.

Explaining what happened, Adekoya said it was true that the university asked its last set of graduates to apply for collection of their certificates via courier service as a way of decongestion of students and prevention of COVID-19 spread on campus.

He noted that most of the graduates concerned have actually had their certificates delivered to them at a fee via courier, while the remaining ones had their own certificates being processed and that the delay was caused by the recent three-week industrial action by the non-academic staff which slowed down the process.

He said but some of the latter category upon hearing the news that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was about to open the orientation camps for a new set of corps members decided to storm the university campus to physically collect their certificates.

He added that some of those who had graduated before them and yet to collect their certificates also joined them to use the opportunity to collect theirs too.

This development, according to Adekoya swelled the number of graduates now on campus to collect their certificates.

“But the officials at the Certificate Office were left with no other option than to attend to only those who are preparing for youth service programme to enable them to meet up with the camp deadline,” he noted.

So, that is the situation of thing according to him and they are being attended to by the school amidst adherence to COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.

Adekoya said LASU had not only put in place the safety guidelines and protocols but also enforcing them.

He said that was the sole reason the school had employed the use of courier service for the students to collect their certificates so as not to have a large number of students on campus at a time.

He, however, advised the media to always cross-check their reports with facts before they go to press in the interest of having a better society.

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Certificate collection: We don’t extort our students, says LASU