Sex-for-marks: Academically weak students to be blamed?

In a recent interview, Prof. Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary, National University Commission (NUC) said that academically weak students in Nigeria higher institutions is the cause of sex-for-mark menace in the system.

Okebukola, who made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, said that if universities and other institutions admitted students who were academically sound and had good scores on entry, there would be no room for any lecturer to harass such students.

“If, in the first instance, a student is academically good, what will a lecturer tell her, sex-for-which mark? All those girls who run after those lecturers or can be harassed by lecturers are those who are academically weak.

“Even, if the lecturers do not want to get engaged with them sexually, the girls will offer them their bodies.

“If at the point of admitting our students, we ensure that they have met some respectable score that when you teach them in class, they can understand and do well on their own; then the problem would have been addressed,” he said.

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Mr Okebukola’s assertion which was the course of discussion on TVC’s chat fest program, Your View, had the ladies share their views and experience about lecturers harassing them while they were students in the university.

Beecee stated that the lecturer’s assertion is not based on any research hence she is against it as her experience while she was in school was the other way round. Her statement below:

“I have three questions for the professor, did he conduct any research showing him that this sex for marks is as a result of academically weak students? is he not aware that every university has a criteria you meet up with the criteria you get admitted into the university? THIRDLY what is his definition of academically weak student because i was almost a victim of sexual harrassment…”

Adding to what Beecee said, Nyma is of the opinion that a professor of such caliber should be bold enough to speak to his colleagues who are indulging such practices as sometimes it takes people to change based on advise from someone within:

“To say that he is without research would not be really founded because he is a professor and in school i saw academically weak student what we call average student think it’s just an ALTERNATIVE: let’just do it… Recently LASU had to sack about four lecturers FOLLOWING an investigation.

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i heard the inside information on how this cameras was planted on a particular student to go into the lecturer’s office.

 

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It’s a maim among lecturers and a professor of his level should be able to talk when the fault is on their side as well as when it’s on the other side – Because you see sometimes the voice that would change things is the inside voice.

Tope had a different point of view, to her the lecturer is trying to solve a problem in the educational sector. Her statement reads:

“Would a smart student allow herself to be harassed? not likely! but he is not talking about HARASSMENT he is talking about sex for marks… that is saying that a student walks into the lecturer’s office flirtatiously asking the lecturer to give her marks in exchange for sexual favours. that is not a smart student,that is a academically challenged student. What he is saying is the fact people go and meet lecturers to ask for marks in EXCHANGE for their bodies.”

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To prevent students offering their bodies for marks, Tope suggested cameras to be placed in every lecturers office. She added that stronger punitive measures should be created for lecturers – measures like, when they know that what is at stake is high, they wont fall.

Morayo concluded that this topic was discussed so that people will not think its okay to trade sex for marks just because you are academically weak.