Enugu, Nigeria - July 19, 2024.

Allegations of high-handedness and abuse of office have been levelled against the Director of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Enugu Study Centre, Prof. Charity Okonkwo. According to sources, the director has been accused of using her position to assert dominance and mistreat staff and students of the study centre.

The Director who was posted to Enugu in March this year from her previous station in Uyo study centre is allegedly fond of bullying, harassing, and unfairly treating staff, students, and graduates (stakeholders). A source who spoke to AnchorNews in Enugu reported that the director has created a toxic work environment and has been using her position to intimidate and victimize those who dare to speak out citing her strong connection from the Abuja headquarters of the university.

The source noted that "this goes against the director's statement on assumption of office where she asserted the importance of treating students well with the aim of making their academic journey a pleasurable experience".

Prof. Okonkwo in her assumption speech said, “My first advocacy is to serve and treat the students well, like the saying goes: the taste of the pudding is in the eating. These students, when satisfied, will in turn spread the gospel of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to their colleagues, friends, among others, thereby increasing the students influx at the centre.”

Specific allegations against the Professor of Educational Measurement and Evaluation, include denying students the necessary resources and support to make their study in the university seamless despite the institution being an open and distant learning school. Jettisoning the university motto “Learn at any place at your pace”, Mrs. Okonkwo sets activities in the study centre according to her schedule and refuses to delegate some duties to staff who were actually employed for those specific duties, leaving the students stranded in their academic pursuits.

The most recent allegation of abuse of office against the director arose from the commencement of the issuance of certificates to the 2024 graduates who have been waiting for their certificates since the university convocation earlier in April. The exercise which was supposed to be held in the study centre from Monday 15th July to Friday 2nd August from 9am to 4pm each day, as directed by the university management, turned to a strenuous and frustrating experience for graduates as Prof. Charity Okonkwo (the director) insisted on issuing the certificates from her office which she scheduled for 12 noon to 2pm each day to attend to graduates in one batch and close for the day which violated the circulated university directive of the issuance timeframe of 9am to 4pm daily.

This process, was never communicated to the graduates prior to coming for their certificates as those that came after she has done the batch of 12pm had to go back home and return the next day no matter the distance they are coming from and plea from the graduates. This is in addition to charging the graduates to compulsorily pay the sum of N2,000 (Two thousand naira) for an alumni muffler, which wasn't issued at the point of certificate collection, and this payment was also found to be illegal as it didn't originate from the university management. 

"The graduating students had already paid the alumni fee (N5,000) as approved by the university management during their final clearance prior to convocation," a source said.

According to reports, the NOUN Enugu study center director often uses intimidation tactics and verbal abuse to unsettle students during exams. Students have alleged that the Director often penalize them unfairly for minor infractions, such as arriving as little as  two minutes late for an exam, by denying them access to the examination ultimately. This goes against the university's laid down examination guidelines which stipulates that students can have a maximum of 30 minutes to arrive for an exam, at which point they can no longer participate in the said exam. This mistreatment has led to undue stress and anxiety for many students, ultimately affecting their performance and overall well-being.

These allegations and others have sparked outrage and calls for an investigation into the matter by stakeholders in the study centre. The university's management has been urged to take swift action to address the situation and ensure that the study centre is run in a fair and transparent manner to avoid a situation where students desert the Enugu study centre as already evidenced by the dwindling number of students enrolling through the centre and those already applying for change of study center.

The National Open University of Nigeria is yet to comment on the allegations, as calls placed to their public phone number didn't connect and that of the director wasn't answered after several calls.