Sometime in June 2023, a message was sent to a top editor in a top Nigerian daily newspaper by the daughter of a late renowned columnist. It read, “I believe you will know someone in LASU, I need my transcript urgently or I will lose a job. I paid since 7th May and have heard nothing.”
The sender of the message, Olusola, (surname withheld), graduated from the Lagos State University, LASU, in 1988 with a B.ED Islamic Studies, degree and later relocated to the United Kingdom, UK.
She had to make an urgent plea to the said editor, where her father was a columnist, as she needed to send her academic transcript to the portal of a recruitment agency in the UK, where she hoped to set her career on another path.
She ended up paying twice and the Editor and his team had to pile some pressure on the university over the matter.
Olusola was lucky because LASU has digitised such processes, if not, her year of graduation, 1988, would have meant having to manually search for her document and it might have been lost.
While many young Nigerians are moving in droves to live, work or study abroad, the dreams of some doing so are being truncated because of their inability to get their academic transcripts forwarded to their new schools or employers by their former Nigerian schools.
Checks by Vanguard showed that many of the nation’s tertiary institutions are many years behind in discharging this simple, but important function.
A transcript is a certified record (inventory) of a student throughout study having full enrollment history including all courses (or subjects) attempted, grades earned and degrees and awards conferred.
The creation of the Electronic Transcripts and Documents Exchange in Nigeria (ETX-NG) in 2013 by ETX Solutions Nigeria Limited in partnership with universities for smooth transfer of transcripts to institutions and organisations that require them, has not helped the situation.
Transcripts are required for scholarships, fellowships, promotions in workplaces, appointments, and admissions purposes among others.
Costs
The cost varies from one school to the other and it also depends on the location it is being sent to.
The average is between N25,000 and N70,000. For instance, the University of Lagos charges N25, 000, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State charges N37, 000 and the University of Ilorin, Kwara State charges N40, 000.
Once payment is made, the Exam and Records Department in the school is expected to begin work on the demand by fishing out the details, type and send to the required address. Some schools, like LASU and UNILAG have modalities for tracking the movement of the document on its way to the address it is sent.
However, findings by Vanguard show that if one relies on the staff involved doing the needful without being pushed, it may take a long time.
‘Unpalatable experiences’
A graduate of UNILAG, Abayomi Roleola, who has had to pay twice and has still not got his transcripts sent, lamented that he could miss what he needs the document for
A 2012 graduate of Science and Technology Education, he forwarded the details of his transaction and interaction with the university to Vanguard newspaper and it goes thus: “Matriculation number 080322066. The year of Admission was 2008. The year of Graduation was 2012. Statement of Result issued on January 22, 2013.
Certificate – certified graduation date December 18, 2012. Class of certificate: Second class lower in BSc Ed Integrated Science. Name listed in the convocation pamphlet. Applied for 100-400 levels transcripts on June 1, 2023, with reference number RC 1255864 and paid the required N25,000. Applied again on January 3, 2024, with reference number RC 1556112 and paid another N25,000, making a total of N50, 000.
“The purpose of applying for the transcript was given as WES with reference number 6023927. It was for career advancement as a number of opportunities have been lost due to the delay in obtaining academic transcripts.”
When Roleola could not get any response from the university, he escalated the issue my mailing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola on November 30, 2023. He has not got any response.
His findings showed that his results were unavailable in the Exams and Records Office.
Most recent acknowledgement of his application on the university portal was on January 24, this year where it was stated that an officer would be assigned to attend to his request.
Nothing has been heard since then.
A lady, Mosun, who needs the document to support her Direct Entry admission to the university through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, may wait a little longer.
She graduated from the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State and paid N17,000 for the document which is supposed to be sent to a university where she is seeking admission to continue her studies. She is not yet sure of what her fate would be.
JAMB early this year said some colleges and schools were fond of not sending academic documents of Direct Entry applicants to it on time for the applicants to be considered for admission.
‘I paid for every step of the process to get mine’
Grace, a journalist with a medical house in Lagos, recalled what she went through before getting her transcript from one of the state-owned universities in the Southwest.
“I paid for all the years I have left the school. Before I could get it, it was hell. You know our documents were in file form, and they had to search and search for weeks before they could get my file. Each step was paid for.
“Now that they are using computers it will be better for students. Every process is money. I also paid for a courier and envelope to send to the organization that requested it which I didn’t get a response from. So, whether they got it or not, I couldn’t trace it. I had to go back and request for a copy which I also paid for,” she said.
Credit: Vanguard
