Parents of students enrolled in the Law programme at Atiba University, Oyo State, have appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the institution’s accreditation crisis and ensure that affected students do not lose years of academic work.
The parents, represented by their lawyer, Victor Opatola, made the appeal in Abuja, calling on the National Universities Commission, the Minister of Education and the Council of Legal Education to urgently address the situation before the next academic session begins.
This follows concerns over the accreditation status of Atiba University’s Law programme and the consequences for students who have already progressed to 400 and 500 levels.
According tonOpatola, some of the affected students had spent as many as five years studying Law, while their parents had committed significant financial resources to their education, only to face uncertainty over their eligibility to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
He also.explained that accreditation by the Council of Legal Education is essential for Law graduates seeking admission into the Nigerian Law School.
According to him, the CLE had imposed a 10-year moratorium on Atiba University’s Law programme, preventing the institution from admitting new students during the period and leaving existing students uncertain about their academic future.
The lawyer said the situation had created serious concerns among parents, particularly those whose children were already in the advanced stages of the programme.
He said, “Atiba University admitted students over the years, running to five, six years and knowing full well that it is not accredited by the Council of Legal Education, knowing the implication that once you are not accredited by the Council of Legal Education, the students cannot go to law school.”
The parents are therefore asking the relevant government agencies to facilitate arrangements that would allow the affected students to transfer to universities with accredited Law programmes, rather than allowing their years of study and the financial sacrifices of their families to go to waste.
