Published by The Nation Newspaper

Written by Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, Education Reporter

OVER 1,000 students of the Covenant University (CU), Ota, Ogun State , will tomorrow bid their lecturers and colleagues farewell.

Sixty-eight of them, comprising 39 girls and 29 boys, are smiling home with First Class scrolls.

They are the cream of over 1,100 others who make up the second graduating set of the institution regarded as the best private university in Nigeria.

In the Second Class Upper category, the girls also took the lead and are 137 more in number than the 179 boys who made the same grade.

With 283 girls and 246 boys graduating with Second Class Lower degrees, and 37 and 44 girls and boys finishing with Third Class grades, the girls clearly outshone the boys. It must however be noted that the girls are more than the boys by 115. Nevertheless, considering that only 55 girls compared to 117 boys would not graduate because they have to re-sit or repeat shows that despite being more, the girls did better.

At a pre-convocation press conference last Monday, the Chancellor of the university, Bishop David Oyedepo defended the number and the quality of first class graduates, stressing that he expected nothing less than excellent performance from students whom, he explained were given everything they needed to succeed.

Responding to questions on the quality of CU degrees compared with other schools, Oyedepo said: "Our first class position is not a make up position. If it were, there would be no third class, re-sit and repeat. I promise you that next year, should we have 300 first class degrees, it will be 300 we will present to the world."

The Chancellor, who is also the Overseer of the Living Faith World Mission, owners of CU, said the university hopes to churn out only first class graduates who would make positive impact on the society and he is confident they can achieve this feat because of the availability of human resources and infrastructure.

"A first class environment should produce first class products. There is light 24 hours, there is water, and students are not carrying buckets on their heads. Our students have lecturers who act as mentors to each of them. Over here, examination malpractice is equal to expulsion. You don’t have to do it twice, just once and you are out," he said.

Oyedepo was also unapologetic that some people feel uncomfortable with the mandatory pregnancy and HIV tests for final year students before they are allowed to graduate. He explained that the university did not require the consent of students to implement its policies, noting that students and their parents had given their consent when they signed the student’s handbook. According to him, the tests are part of the machinery the university uses to ensure quality control of its products.

"CU is not a freelance university. It is the production process that determines the product you have. We are dedicated to this process. We are trying to raise a new generation of leaders who will remove the shame of the black man.

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 20.07.2007 09:02

naijaninja  Villager

# 2 Good,good and good! Such a shame articles like this doesnt always tickle the fancy of largely self hating and hypercritical Nigerians,hence the non response.I bet the thread would have been very long if the article is about how the same university has degenerated...yeye rolling !!! :arrow::arrow::arrow: Posted by naijaninja| 20.07.2007 14:08

Auspicious  Villager

# 3 Nna wait O, Na so 'e eazy to carey forst klass? Make I kukuma go get my own dia too..:D Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 20.07.2007 14:12

Bunch17  Villager

# 4 =naijaninja;193447>Good,good and good! Such a shame articles like this doesnt always tickle the fancy of largely self hating and hypercritical Nigerians,hence the non response.I bet the thread would have been very long if the article is about how the same university has degenerated...yeye rolling !!! :arrow::arrow::arrow: Quality control? Posted by Bunch17| 20.07.2007 14:17

mulan  Villager

# 5 "Oyedepo was also unapologetic that some people feel uncomfortable with the mandatory pregnancy and HIV tests for final year students before they are allowed to graduate. He explained that the university did not require the consent of students to implement its policies, noting that students and their parents had given their consent when they signed the student’s handbook. According to him, the tests are part of the machinery the university uses to ensure quality control of its products." Mandatory ke? HIV test? Is this not against the law somebody? I won't talk much on the pregnancy and first class case If you agree to go to church school, you must pay the price And if they decide to dash their graduates first class, With time, the school will equally pay the price... Posted by mulan| 20.07.2007 14:28

tonsoyo  Villager

# 6 68 or 5000 first class is not a proof that they are better than other schools, since the criteria and the standard is internal. It will mean something only when their "products" being "quality controlled" by intrusion of privacy without consent are tested alongside the products from other colleges. Posted by tonsoyo| 20.07.2007 14:31

Soul Sista  Villager

# 7 We are a very interesting set of people. Honestly, we are! I hope they devised a way to check the graduating boys for evidence of engagement in sexual intercourse since they have devised pregnancy for the girls! What an unfortunate throw back to eras that hitherto appeared to be past? I guess the best way to show Christian charity to a young pregnant girl is to deprive her of the proof of her education. That way, her and her unborn child are sure to have a smooth road ahead of them. Why stop at HIV? Why not add syphillis, gonorrhea, herpes and other STDs as well? Do they have immunologists working in this university at all? And, they told them that HIV is evidence of bad moral character or what? Anyway, so long as they are not enjoying public money, they can do as they please. I just hope that the university is a tax paying entity. Ifueko Omoigui, where are you? And, Jerry Gana was the convocation lecturer? Opari, i.e., it is finished! http://www.covenantuniversity.com/gallery/2ndconvocation/day4/2ndConvocationday4/index.html Soul Sista a/k/a Soul Sizzling Posted by Soul Sista| 20.07.2007 14:44

Anon  Villager

# 8 Oyedepo was also unapologetic that some people feel uncomfortable with the mandatory pregnancy and HIV tests for final year students before they are allowed to graduate. He explained that the university did not require the consent of students to implement its policies, noting that students and their parents had given their consent when they signed the student’s handbook. According to him, the tests are part of the machinery the university uses to ensure quality control of its products. This is obviously blatant discrimination at it's highest and it is one which any right thinking Nigeria must stand against. Pregnancy test for whom? and why? Are men included in these test? And the HIV test is too prove what exactly? If one tests positive to either, then what? They don't graduate? I was under the impression this was a university and not some glorified high school. What a shame that this are the inanities our educational systems have been reduced too. It is obvious that the man Oyedepo is attempting to carve a niche for his university and church mission, by appearing to take a higher moral and religious ground than other federal and state universities where the issue of morality appears to have taken a greater significance and substance that the quality of teaching and scholarship as a whole. So does having a child while in university become a barrier to good scholarship? Is this restricted to only unmarried folks or are married folks in the university expected not to be pregnant as well? Infact are students of this "first class university" allowed to marry while in school? Can someone please help me here because my head is whirling in wonderment? I am hoping that someone would use this as a test case for a gross human rights violation because somehow the rights of individuals are constantly been eroded in our higher institutions all over and hopefully it would be checked before it carries into private and public institutions regulating people even within the confines of their bedrooms. I am just shocked that any right thinking parent acquised to these policies in the first place... the oxy*****ic tragedies of our public educational system I guess... Posted by Anon| 20.07.2007 15:00

mayitbedone  Villager

# 9 Well, congrats to the honours student and good luck to them - whatever their benchmark may be. However, I'd like the authorities of the university to know that you don't instill morals by instilling fear but my reason and convincing your wards about your ideals. What if the female students get pregnant on the day they receive their certificates? And should one be found pregnant and the boy responsible is also a graduating student - who denies responsibility - will the boy also be denied graduation until the child is born and a paternity test is carried out? As for the HIV test, it doesn't portray an educational institute in good light to think the virus is only contracted through sex. And I want to believe that the students signed away their rights/freedoms by being forced into the test else....the relevant authorities should look into it. What's this thing about doctor-patient confidentiality!? Posted by mayitbedone| 20.07.2007 15:17

DoubleWahala  Villager

# 10 The school is a private institution, not a public one; a very important distinction. As much as this school's 'policies' are totally repugnant, as a private university, theoretically, they can dream up any policies, insofar as they are not in direct conflict with our laws. Charges of discrimination may not stick as much as they would have, if it was a public institution. Also, the students were probably required to sign an extensive waiver of sorts, before being admitted to the school. Furthermore, from a purely legal perspective, this matter throws up the issue of negative and positive rights, in the realm of human rights. In the medium to long-term, what will really seal the fate and reputation of the school is their academic and scholarstic werewithal, as determined externally, through the performance of its students after graduating, quality of academic papers written by members of the faculty, performance of the students in any standardized 'across-board' examinations (like GMAT, or Law School, or ICAN, or even JAMB, sef) and the like. Market forces have a way of eventually putting round pegs in round holes. DW Posted by DoubleWahala| 20.07.2007 15:49

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