The management of Landmark University in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, has been accused of delaying the National Youth Service Corps Scheme call-up letters of some students who recently graduated from the university due to their absence at a farewell prayer session.
According to Vanguard, one of the parents said about 200 students were affected in a text message. The students were allegedly absent when the university’s Chancellor, Dr David Oyedepo, arrived to pray for them, according to the parent.
“Delegates and letters of appeal have been sent with no response until yesterday, when I heard that call-up letters will be released in August 2022.
“It means our children will stay at home with us after graduation till August. This is rather draconian and height of impunity.”
While response, Landmark University’s spokesman, Joseph Olajide, remarked that the impacted students are faceless to him because he doesn’t know who actually protested. Olajide, who declined to get drawn into the debate over whether kids were sanctioned or not for missing a prayer event, emphasized that instead of going to the media, parents should take their issues to the school.
“I don’t want to be drawn into that controversy,” he replied when asked if there was a prayer session that the students didn’t attend and that was responsible for their call-up letters being withheld.
He added, “All that I know is that they came here for admission for their wards and we granted them, so we expect that if there is any issue about their wards, they should come to the school, and we will look for ways out of the problem and definitely not the media.”
Students are being mobilized in batches for the NYSC program, according to Olajide, and those who have not been mobilized have one or more issues with the university.
“As long as our students don’t have any issue, there is no reason not to mobilize them for NYSC. We are doing it in batches,” he said.
