IMSU ASUU Crisis Deepens; Lecturers Threaten To Reject Exam Scripts …As Students Face Uncertainty Over Academic Fate

IMSU ASUU Crisis Deepens; Lecturers Threaten To Reject Exam Scripts

…As Students Face Uncertainty Over Academic Fate

 

By Onyekachi Eze

 

Tension has heightened at the Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri, following a fresh escalation in the lingering industrial dispute between the institution’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the authorities, with lecturers threatening to reject, mark or grade examination scripts written by students during the ongoing strike.

 

Trumpeta Newspaper learnt that the development has thrown the fate of thousands of IMSU students into fresh uncertainty, particularly those currently participating in examinations being conducted while the university’s academic staff remain on industrial action.

 

Chairman of the ASUU IMSU Branch, Comrade Stephen Oguji, was reported to had disclosed the union’s position in a statement issued to journalists in Owerri on Saturday, warning students that participating in examinations outside the framework of their striking lecturers could expose them to serious academic complications.

 

Oguji said the union would not compromise the integrity and credibility of the university’s academic process, stressing that the lecturers responsible for teaching, setting, supervising, assessing and grading the students are currently on strike.

 

According to him, the examinations being conducted under the prevailing circumstances were neither designed nor supervised by the striking academic staff, raising questions about their eventual assessment and recognition.

 

The ASUU chairman consequently cautioned students against taking actions that could jeopardise their academic progression, warning that the consequences of the present situation could extend beyond the examinations themselves.

 

He said, “We do not wish students to jeopardize their examinations. We do not want them to lose their academic session; most importantly, we do not want them to graduate through a process whose credibility may later be questioned.”

 

He maintained that ASUU’s position was not intended to punish students, but to protect the integrity of their academic qualifications and ensure that the university’s examination process remained credible.

 

He also appealed to students to direct their grievances towards the appropriate authorities, rather than their lecturers, insisting that the responsibility for resolving the issues that triggered the strike rests principally with those empowered to address them.

 

The ASUU chairman urged IMSU students to support the union’s demand for the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, particularly commitments relating to the funding and proper functioning of universities.

 

“Dear Students, your true adversaries are not the lecturers. We are advocating for an educational system that functions effectively for you, for us and future generations,” Oguji said.

 

He further advised students to engage the relevant authorities peacefully and demand the implementation of the agreements reached with ASUU, arguing that doing so would help create the conditions necessary for the strike to be called off.

 

The latest development has nevertheless heightened anxiety among IMSU students, many of whom now face uncertainty over the status of examinations conducted during the industrial action and the possibility of having their scripts assessed by lecturers who were not involved in the process.

 

While the standoff persists, Oguji stressed that IMSU lecturers remain eager to return to their classrooms and resume their academic responsibilities, insisting that the union’s ultimate objective is to ensure that students are properly taught, fairly assessed and awarded qualifications whose credibility would remain unquestionable.

 

He reiterated that the resolution of the crisis now rests largely with the concerned authorities, urging them to implement the outstanding agreements and take concrete steps towards ending the industrial dispute.

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