The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has opened its portal for course registration for the Harmattan semester for the 2023/2024 academic session. This development, as expected, had students scrambling to register for their courses and pick their preferred special electives before the available spaces filled up. However, many are still questioning the reason for the delay in course registration until now.
On Friday, November 24th, during an interview with the InFocus correspondent, the Dean of the Division of Students’ Affairs explained that the delay in course registration was not arbitrary but a decision made for security reasons.
According to him, the school portal has had its fair share of cyber-attacks, prompting the need to reduce vulnerabilities that may lead to future incidents. He cited that the recent hitches students experienced since the beginning of the semester resulted from the school portal’s upgrades.
Also, the official payment platform used by the school for every one of her financial transactions, Remita, encountered internal issues, further delaying the course registration. This clarification is a relief to students as there have been widespread speculations about what may be the cause of the delay.
Eniola Olufemi, a part two student of the Department of English, shared her thoughts about the delay with InFocus News Correspondent. She stated, ‘Concerning the delay in course registration, many of us have noticed that this is one of the first times OAU has engaged in such unnecessary procrastination. Normally, course registration occurs early before any other registration so that one can go to class with the mind that their courses are settled. Unfortunately, I don’t think OAU was well-organized this semester. Sadly, course registration has become one of our setbacks.’
Furthermore, many students have expressed uncertainty about rumours surrounding a WAEC verification process. At the beginning of the semester, various campus news outlets circulated information about this verification.
This caused a stir in the student community. Opinions were divided based on their consideration as students, especially freshmen, thought it was a legitimate process since it was on the WAEC website. Others ignored the rumour, waiting for the university to release an official circular.
When asked whether students should proceed with the verification, the dean replied, ‘Although the approach may differ, it is important to verify whatever certificate we claim to possess. We live in a world where AI can be used to generate certificates, so verification is essential. I am aware that all freshmen are asked to do this upon admission.
However, verification cannot occur before admission because this process establishes your authenticity as a student. I am uncertain if it is meant for returning students but all freshers must verify every certificate they upload on their portal. This requirement primarily concerns new students not returning ones.’