On Monday, February 22, the University of Liberia (UL) announced that it had launched a probe into how students who did not complete their required courses participated in the 2008/2009 graduation ceremonies of the UL and obtained degrees in various academic and professional disciplines.
The UL said several students predominantly from the College of Business and Public Administration, who obtained undergraduate degrees last December, fraudulently obtained grades for courses they either did not take, did not complete or pass.
The UL administration was alerted of the fraud after a tipoff from the instructors and professors who were teaching the courses.
“They told us that some students received clearances when in fact those students had not done those courses or failed them, yet received grades which automatically qualified them for graduation,” the UL Vice President for Academic Affairs told reporters recently.
The University has vowed to not only revoke the degrees, but to also squash all academic honors conferred upon those who may be involved in the scandal, to serve as deterrent to others.
Indeed, this latest revelation by the UL administration is worrisome for Liberia’s academic arena. The country is just emerging from a prolonged armed conflict and is in dire need of trained minds, reliable professionals, and men and women of integrity.
We hold the view that the UL, as the nation’s highest institution of learning, is not only the bedrock or foundation on which the reconstruction of Liberia rests, but also the sustenance of its hard-won peace and democracy.
It is in consideration of the pivotal role of the UL that its students should put on the moral garment in their advocacy against fraud, corruption, dictatorship and tyranny. Indeed, the UL is and has been a torch-bearer in a society whose citizens are seeking light for sustainable peace, democracy and progress.
This is why the probe into the academic fraud, as announced by the UL administration, should include all those whose functions are associated with academic and graduation activities.
We also believe that it is frankly hypocritical and ironical for students of the UL to decry corruption in public offices while they themselves are engaged in scandalous activities to achieve undeserved academic excellence. We in the civil society have been counting on these students to lead the crusade for change in the society, only to find them using the school system, in cohort with certain unscrupulous individuals, to carry out corrupt practices to deceive the nation and the world.
University students cannot be demanding accountability and transparency in the governance of the country while they themselves are wanting in their individual conduct.
That the UL administration would confer degrees on new graduates without properly ensuring that they were capable of defending those degrees outside the walls of the University of Liberia leaves much to be desired.
The fact that the UL administration would put out ‘graduates’ into the Liberian society and the world and later begin to raise qualms about their qualification serves as a complete disincentive to our society. It also shows how reckless and irresponsible some of those charged with the responsibility of handling the nation’s academic activities are. We suggest that they too must be investigated for their reckless handling of the graduation exercise since they have already admitted that the fraud might have been an organized crime.
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Updated: February 24, 2010 - 12:01pm
On Monday, February 22, the University of Liberia (UL) announced that it had launched a probe into how students who did not complete their required courses participated in the 2008/2009 graduation ceremonies of the UL and obtained degrees in various academic and professional disciplines.
The UL said several students predominantly from the College of Business and Public Administration, who obtained undergraduate degrees last December, fraudulently obtained grades for courses they either did not take, did not complete or pass.
The UL administration was alerted of the fraud after a tipoff from the instructors and professors who were teaching the courses.
“They told us that some students received clearances when in fact those students had not done those courses or failed them, yet received grades which automatically qualified them for graduation,” the UL Vice President for Academic Affairs told reporters recently.
The University has vowed to not only revoke the degrees, but to also squash all academic honors conferred upon those who may be involved in the scandal, to serve as deterrent to others.
Indeed, this latest revelation by the UL administration is worrisome for Liberia’s academic arena. The country is just emerging from a prolonged armed conflict and is in dire need of trained minds, reliable professionals, and men and women of integrity.
We hold the view that the UL, as the nation’s highest institution of learning, is not only the bedrock or foundation on which the reconstruction of Liberia rests, but also the sustenance of its hard-won peace and democracy.
It is in consideration of the pivotal role of the UL that its students should put on the moral garment in their advocacy against fraud, corruption, dictatorship and tyranny. Indeed, the UL is and has been a torch-bearer in a society whose citizens are seeking light for sustainable peace, democracy and progress.
This is why the probe into the academic fraud, as announced by the UL administration, should include all those whose functions are associated with academic and graduation activities.
We also believe that it is frankly hypocritical and ironical for students of the UL to decry corruption in public offices while they themselves are engaged in scandalous activities to achieve undeserved academic excellence. We in the civil society have been counting on these students to lead the crusade for change in the society, only to find them using the school system, in cohort with certain unscrupulous individuals, to carry out corrupt practices to deceive the nation and the world.
University students cannot be demanding accountability and transparency in the governance of the country while they themselves are wanting in their individual conduct.
That the UL administration would confer degrees on new graduates without properly ensuring that they were capable of defending those degrees outside the walls of the University of Liberia leaves much to be desired.
The fact that the UL administration would put out ‘graduates’ into the Liberian society and the world and later begin to raise qualms about their qualification serves as a complete disincentive to our society. It also shows how reckless and irresponsible some of those charged with the responsibility of handling the nation’s academic activities are. We suggest that they too must be investigated for their reckless handling of the graduation exercise since they have already admitted that the fraud might have been an organized crime.