OAU’s results crisis: When students are left waiting

Idowu Boluwatife is a student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State

I write as a student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, not merely to complain, but to draw attention to an issue that deserves serious public conversation: the university’s recurring challenges with examination results and the systems surrounding them.

I am a Part One engineering student who is expected to progress to Part Two by November. Yet, as I write this, I have not even seen my first-semester Part One results. What makes this more concerning is that my experience is only a small part of a much larger situation affecting other students.

The problem goes beyond delayed results. Students have raised concerns about CBT examinations, including system glitches, unresponsive equipment and overcrowded centres. In February 2026, the OAU Students’ Union reportedly declared a state of emergency over CBT challenges. There were also reports of students facing difficult examination conditions, including long queues and examinations extending late into the evening.

There are further concerns about results being uploaded and later removed, incorrect scores appearing on portals, and allegations that some results may be altered. There are also claims from students that some are deliberately failed. These allegations should be independently investigated rather than dismissed or accepted without evidence.

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This concern is especially significant because academic records can determine a student’s progression, scholarships, employment opportunities and even future career prospects.

OAU has a proud history and a reputation for academic excellence. But academic excellence should not end in the classroom. It should extend to a transparent, efficient and accountable examination and results-management system.

Students deserve to know that when they write an examination, their efforts will be accurately recorded, their results released within a reasonable period, and any genuine discrepancy treated with seriousness.

I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for a system that works.