Transcripts of frustration

Many graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria are frustrated over the inability to obtain their official academic transcripts in good time. KOLA MUHAMMED reports the ordeals and the steps being taken by institutions to arrest the situation.

The rigours of acquiring a first degree in Nigeria are well-documented. From time to time, students talk about the challenges they face at tertiary institutions across Nigeria, to the extent that experiencing a hitch-free undergraduate study would seem a myth to many.

From the trending sex-for-mark issues, reports of missing results to unending industrial action by the academic and non-academic staff, students of tertiary education in Nigeria claim such hurdles and complications have become the norm. Unfortunately, not many parents could afford the fees of institutions outside the country where the myriad of problems do not exist.

With the conclusion of a first degree in spite of the daunting odds, a majority of students expect their graduation to be the end of difficulties. But hardly do they know that more problems still lie ahead when trying to retrieve their academic transcripts often needed by students intending to pursue their postgraduate studies at other institutions in the country or abroad or if requested by an employers.

Since most Nigerian institutions, in recent times, already have academic records of their students on the portals created for such on websites, it is thought that applying for a transcript at such institutions would be easy and straightforward.  Sunday Tribune’s interactions with alumni of Nigerian universities, however, revealed that the reverse is the reality. Many of them revealed that the delivery of their transcripts sometimes took several months, some running into years, much to their chagrin.

A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Seye Olawoyin, spoke with Sunday Tribune on his ordeal of getting a transcript ordered in 2016, which took him about six months before it was delivered.

“Applying for transcript is a draining exercise. The experience is not a nice one at all. I have applied for transcripts about three times, for myself and a couple of friends. The first time I applied for the transcript was 2016.

“It took six months before it could be delivered to the destination. I was scared that I was going to lose the admission because of the prolonged delay. I had satisfied all other requirements for the admission process, only for the transcript to delay everything.

“Then, it was a private company that served as the middleman between the university and ex-students. I called the company several times and I was told to be patient. My patience cost me six months,” he said.

In another experience, Olawoyin stated that he thought the six-month delay would probably be the longest it could take and was prepared for the eventuality, only for the transcript to be delivered after 11 months.

“On another occasion that I ordered for a transcript on behalf of a friend, it took about 11 months. At some point, the person I did it for assumed I had embezzled his money. The most annoying part about the whole saga was that one could do absolutely nothing to expedite it.

“The authorities in charge should know that there are deadlines to applications and the process of getting one’s transcripts should not take forever. People apply for transcripts to get a job, to apply for scholarships, postgraduate applications and for many other delicate and time-bound reasons.

“Which scholarship body, or prospective employer would wait for one year to get one’s transcript? It’s as if the people there do not care at all,” the OAU alumnus added.

Another graduate of OAU, Bosede Atolagbe, relating her experience to Sunday Tribune, disclosed that it took her almost two years to get her academic records delivered from OAU, Ile-Ife, to the University of Ibadan where she wanted to pursue postgraduate studies.

Eventually, she had to go to her alma mater to fast-track the whole process.

“Ordering for transcript from Nigerian universities is not an easy ride. I spent almost two years to process mine from OAU to UI, despite using the so-called electronic intervention of a private company.

“I wonder what is electronic about it because in the end, I had to travel to Ile-Ife to sort it out myself, thus going through the stress I had paid for.  The manual processing too did not go without something exchanging hands, including endless calls.

“I guess the hardship syndrome in Nigeria has crawled into the document processing unit of our education system too. To graduate from school is usually a war, getting your documents processed after crossing the hurdles is another war. Some people just don’t believe that something can be done or achieved with ease. You have to pass through the crucible, beg, daddify and mummify officials in charge before you can get what you desperately need,” she said.

The phenomenon of prolonged delay in the processing of academic records is now prevalent in almost all public universities in the country, both federal and state. An alumnus of the University of Ibadan who pleaded anonymity lamented his experience, revealing that the delay cost him an overseas admission.

“My experience wasn’t palatable at all. As a distance learning student of the University of Ibadan, I needed to get my transcript to apply for a programme in the United States.

“I applied and paid for the transcript. Apart from the delay that lasted months, by the time the transcript was eventually out, I was told that the system did not recognise combined honours as I read Communication and Language Arts/English.

“I was really angry. With all the years I had spent in the school, I still wouldn’t get a transcript that represents my academic journey. I had to reject the transcript.

“By this time, I had already missed the US admission because of the delay. Though I eventually got the proper transcript, it was already too late,” he said.

Another graduate of the premier institution, Flora Godwin, said she’s still awaiting the delivery of her transcript which she ordered in February 2021.

If previous respondents had been able to get over their ordeal, Flora is still very much in the middle of it with no specific date as to when her issue would be resolved.

“The order for my transcript was made in February 2021. But regrettably, I’m still on it. It got to a point that I had to pay someone to help speed up the process,” she said.

When asked if she had been to her department to lodge a complaint about the setback, Godwin said that on getting there, she was told the departmental office’s printer was bad.

“When I got to my department, I was told that the printer was bad and that took three weeks to fix – three weeks to get my results from the department to Exam and Records. For this to be happening in the 21st century is a mark of backwardness,” Godwin stated further.

 

Cost of transcripts

In furtherance of the investigation on the frustrations surrounding transcripts, Sunday Tribune also found out the cost of obtaining a transcript.

Findings revealed that the cost depends on the destination. The charge for delivering to local destinations was found to be way cheaper than international ones. For recipients within the country, the charges range from N8,000 to  N30,000.

For Osun State University, Osogbo, graduates making intra-country requests for their transcripts will need to cough up between N9,000 and N12,000. At OAU, Ile Ife, a transcript costs between N8,000 and N10,000.

At Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, getting a transcript attracts a minimal fee of N25,000, while the University of Ibadan graduates have to pay between N8,000 and N15,000.

To send a transcript abroad, Sunday Tribune’s discovered that institutions charge as high as N70,000.

An alumna of Osun State University, Zainab Ayoola, lamented to Sunday Tribune that she was told at her the transcript office of her alma mater that the process of ordering and delivering transcript would take three weeks. However, she said that her transcript is yet to be delivered after two months.

“I needed my transcript for an international admission I was processing. I went to the school in early October and I was told that it would take three weeks.

“The admission I needed it for would lapse four to five weeks after I placed the order. I felt that it was still within the time frame.

“Till now, my transcript is yet to be delivered. Because of distance, I sent someone there to make enquiries on my behalf. What the person was told was that the situation on ground was beyond their control and they couldn’t give a date as to when my order would be completed,” Ayoola added.

 

Intervention of universities

Some Nigerian graduates who claimed to have been victims of delayed issuance of transcripts in recent times have been taking their cases to the social media. Many of them shared their experiences and the magnitude of the consequences of what they forfeited – ranging from scholarships, fellowships, to promotion and appointment confirmation.

This has prompted actions from a number of universities as they look to combat what appears to be a serial sore for their products.This has prompted actions from a number of universities as they look to combat what appears to be a serial sore for their products.

One intervention many universities have adopted to arrest the sluggish response time was to engage online consultants for the process. However, the move appeared to further add fuel to a the fire as testimonies gathered by Sunday Tribune indicated things got even worse.

Apart from missing out from such global opportunities due to the failure of the school and etx.ng, one of the online consultants engaged for the process, to send the transcripts before the specified deadlines, many ex-students said they did not get a  refund for the failed service.

Indeed, Obafemi Awolowo University had in August announced an overhaul of the transcript ordering system through a statement signed by its director of academic affairs and obtained by Sunday Tribune.

“This is to inform all students and alumni of Obafemi Awolowo University as well as the general public that the approved channel for making transcript applications is at tps.oauife.edu.ng.

“Transactions with any individual, agent, or company through payment of cash or any other means outside of the approved channel are prohibited.Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to make their applications by themselves to forestall avoidable delays for which the University will not be liable,” the statement read.

However, some of the university’s alumni who spoke with Sunday Tribune disclosed that they were yet to feel the effect of the new transcript system.

Sunday Tribune reached out to the school management on the effectiveness of the new system.

Speaking on the delay, the Public Relations Officer of Obafemi Awolowo University, Abiodun Olarewaju, explained to Sunday Tribune that the  institution has indeed overhauled its transcript issuance system to make it more effective. But the institution is yet to clear the backlog of requests made by graduates which accumulated in the old system.

That, he explained further, appears to be the reason people think there has been no improvement.

“Because of the delay, we decided to go internal, overhauling the whole system. But we should also be mindful that there are backlogs, several, that have been piling up and we want to do it one after the other. Don’t forget that if we have about 500 on ground and someone just applied three weeks ago.

“It behoves on us to process the first 500 before we can attend to that person. But the impatience normally exhibited – I want my transcript, what I want to use it for is urgent…

“It doesn’t work that way, and they themselves know. There is a system that we are implementing and people who know us before have been commending us for being proactive.

“So, we are trying to sort out the backlog because those whose applications are pending will also want to get conclusion. So, those who freshly applied have to know that things don’t work that way.

“In fact, everything is now at the Floor O of the university, under the supervision of the management. They don’t close by 4. They close by 7:30/8 [pm]. They even come [to work] on Saturdays,” the OAU spokesman added.

Sunday Tribune interacted with authorities at the University of Ibadan on the transcript delay complaints by their ex-students and an official who didn’t want to be identified confirmed that the university’s ears were already full with the reports of the exasperation of students with their encounter with the exams and records department.

He disclosed to Sunday Tribune that series of meetings and actions were already being done and implemented and a drastic change would soon attend the entire process.

While attempts to speak with a senior official of the university for precisedetails on the steps the institutionwas taking proved abortive, Sunday Tribune gathered that an overhaul of the transcript system was in the works and a significant change could soon be made.

However, while university authorities are finding a way out of the logjam, for how long more would students have to suffer for others’ inefficiency, as golden opportunities continue to be lost, knowing fully well that overhauling the system in Nigeria is not always a stroll in the park?

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