The National Open University (NOUN) law students have cried out for help over the scrapping of the law program by the university management, leaving final-year students in a dilemma. According to documents, the university’s senate ratified the scrapping of the law degree program on January 25, 2023, at the end of the 2023 second semester.
“We were not notified, we only saw a statement on social media suggesting that the law program would be stopped after we spent how many years on it and no one has offered any form of apology or genuine concern,” a student lamented.
Concerned law students wrote to the House of Representatives seeking intervention. In a letter dated October 27, 2023, the House acknowledged the call for intervention and promised to convene a meeting between student representatives and the university management. However, despite meetings held between November 2023 and January 2024, no meaningful development has occurred.
Over 1,500 final-year students are affected by the decision, which puts their academic investments of around N3 million at risk. The students are yet to receive graduation certificates or be convoked, leaving them in a difficult situation.
NOUN, which operates a distance-learning model, has been plagued by controversies surrounding accreditation and management. Students accuse the university of poor communication, failing to address their queries and concerns.
The university intends to seek fresh accreditation for the law program but has stopped admitting new law students. The current 500-level law students are left uncertain about their future.
The Public Relations Officer of NOUN, Ibrahim Sheme, declined to comment on the development, asking newsmen to visit him at his office instead.
