Hundreds of Unilag Law students barred from taking exams for poor attendance

Some of the affected students lamented that the rule sprang upon them without prior notice, while some things the rule was a ploy to whittle down the candidates for next year Law School admission.dding that the University’s enforcement of the rule was to reduce the number of students who get to the final year and subsequently get admitted to the Nigerian Law School.

One student to Sahara Reporters, “the university did this not because they so much care about students coming to class but because they needed to cut the number of students who go to law school. Normally, it is two hundred and seventy students (270) that get accepted into law school so they are trying to cut down the number of students before they get to the final year.”

Some of the students attributed the various reasons for their poor class attendance to include the inadequacy of the lecture halls both in capacity and facility such as lacking amplifiers to carry the lecturers’ voices, and truancy on part of lecturers who sometimes do not show up to teach. A student said, “there were times I went for customary law classes that the lecturer was not around, about 5 times that happened ion one semester. Sometimes we have over 200 students taking an elective course and the class would only accommodate 150 students which means some students who have to stand”.

However, the dean of the faculty of law, Professor Atsenwa, said the 65% attendance rule is not new in the university, it is contained in students’ handbook, adding that there also has been constant reminders to the students on the rule.

“I am surprised that a genuine student of the University of Lagos would say he is not aware of the rule, it is in their handbook and at the back of their docket. I am also surprised that any student would say they are not aware because the faculties reminded them. It is not a new rule and their attention was drawn to the rule” the dean said.