"Imagine someone got admission in 2019, graduated in 2021 but had to wait till 2024 to proceed...."

Last week, The Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State released SOME results of hundreds of students who did the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) programme between 2019 to 2021.

Most of these students that wrote their final exams in December, 2021 are yet to see their results as the school portal where they suppose to see them still writes "results not available".

After they were done with the exams, MOST if not ALL of them are in different organizations/companies doing Industrial Attachment as the school has given them IT letters. How could they know they are doing IT without graduating from the said Polytechnic.

The school is about to commence the second semester, they postponed it from 1st August to 15th due to "unforseen circumstances".

This year (2022) is passed for whoever among those who have carry over in the second semester but don't know due to portal's "results not available". Worse for those who are 'lucky' to see results but don't have the money to pay: both have to wait for the second semester of the 2023 academic calendar. The two categories would have to do their IT between 2023 2024. Imagine someone got admission in 2019, graduated in 2021 but had to wait till 2024 to proceed.

Should ANYTHING happens that prevents them from writing their carryover next year, they should entirely forget about the OND programme. Worse if they fail. In the Polytechnic mantra, it is stated that whoever has a carryover has two years (two attempts if fully utilized) to resit and pass or he/she should forget about it.

It is acute to say it was ingloriously released, for instead of the 'normal' count-your-losses-and-celebrate-your-win atmosphere, the release of the results left the students CONFUSED than ever before.

If you are closer to lecturers in FEDPOFFA, especially those who are teaching the OND students, they will tell you how 'disturbing' and 'restless' these students were.

Their refusal to release the results thrown the students into confusion and they waited and prayed, for what else could be done to the 'almighty FEDPOFFA'?

And to talk about the release of the results, the students had to revolt and protested before the management released their results. Some days ago, some members of the Students Union Government (SUG) had to put concerned offices in the school under padlocks in the two campuses.

Back to the rail: when these students were done with their second semester exams in December, 2021, had the school released their results, say February 2022; whoever that had one or more carryovers would have known his/her fate and registered.

These students were left in the dark about their fate. They know the management has said they won't waive any carryover for anyone anymore but how would they know who have it when their results were not released?

'The saved' are those who had carryover in their first semester, had known and had registered for it.

I for one supported the school when the management said they would no longer waive one carryover for their final year students in OND and HND. Yet it is essential that they release the results earlier.

The best in this state is to revert their decision on non-waiver of one carryover at least.

I also suggest that the affected students meet with the Students Union and approach the school management on this.

I feel for these students because they have withstood three different calamities. They survived COVID-19 Pandemic, ASUP warning strike and Offa-Erin Ile Crisis of early 2021. These have made their two years journey to become longer than intended.

Why didn't they release the results earlier?

The few who are victorious have February, 2022 as graduating period on their results.

(c) Jimoh Taofik Adekunle (Jimson Jaat Taofik) is a trained journalist, blogger, freelancer, author and researcher.

He is a graduate student of The Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State.