Fendell Campus, Montserrado – At least one female student fell unconscious in the densely packed hall on the Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia where thousands of students had gathered, scrambling to meet registration deadline.
Report by Augustine T. Tweh – [email protected]
UL, like other universities in the country, has not improved its registration processes. Students have to stand in long queues for hours just to complete one process before running to join another long queue to get through with another process.
There are at least five very long queues that students have to stand in order to have registration complete. In these rows, people perspire profusely.
This semester’s registration closure was October 28th but disenchanted students, who felt the institution’s administration was being unfair and inhumane to them, protested the closure by disturbing ongoing classes last Monday.
Their action prompted the student leadership – University of Liberia Student Union (ULSU) — to negotiate an extension with the administration.
The three-day extension seems not to be very favorable for the thousands of students, who are yet to register.
While fighting to meet the deadline, over the weekend, a female student collapsed after she has stood in the queue for hours.
The hall of the Electronic Data Processing Department (EDP) within the Academic Building (AB), Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia, was so jammed park, according to our reporter, who himself was in the crowd that there was to fresh air entering and leaving.
Several students were also seen standing on chairs and fighting just to get through the queue to process their registration requirement documents in order to meet the deadline.
In an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa (FPA), students said struggling in queue at the EDP for registration process is something common to students at the state-run university (UL).
They attributed this to administration after administration being myopic in their vision for the smooth operation of the school and the lack of political will to provide a good and improved learning environment.
According to them, there are several factors hampering the learning conditions of students at the university, including inadequate transport service system, slow processing of registration document at the EDP, limited working staffs to decentralize the registration process and the late arrival of some staff to work.
“These are some of the issues impeding the smooth learning condition of students at the UL,” Ms. Florence Tokpa, a sophomore student, added.
Another student from the Biology Department, Ms. Abigail S. Dweh, also stated that the issue of student struggling in queue for registration process is something common at the UL especially during the middle and late hours of the registration period.
“Every student wants to be served first and because of that you see them fighting in queue, this usually happens when the time the school gave us to register expires or is nearing expiration. This is the time all the students want to fit in,” she added.
Ms. Dweh further stated that students, who cannot afford to pay their school fees, depend on scholarships. According to her, this is one of the aspects responsible for the delay in most students’ registration process.
“Lots of students wait for ULSU, philanthropists and or counties’ scholarship schemes before completing their registration processes,” she noted.
Also speaking, a member of the Fendell Student Union (FENCIA), Jairus E. Bolar, also said lots of things are hampering the growth and development of the institution, including smooth learning environment. According to him, neither the central government nor the UL administration cares enough to improve the learning conditions of students.
“It happened last year, when the administration put halt to the registration process. Most students were still doing their registration process.
This process is something normal, and when it happens, we always take stance against it,” he said.
Bolar added that there has been negotiation ongoing between FENCIA and UL authority on the extension of the registration deadline from October 31, but this is yet to materialize.
“We spoke with the president of the UL; she promised to find the best way forward to put things in order.
She gave us the assurance of extending the registration process to Tuesday, October 31, 2017. But we told her that Tuesday will not be enough time because we still have thousands of students, who are planning their courses and others have not received bank slips to deposit their fees,” he stated.
The University of Liberia is currently under the leadership of Dr. Ophelia Inez Weeks. Dr. Weeks was inaugurated few months ago as president of the University, being the second female president of the institution and the 14th president of the University.