Parents of the over 10,000 students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, have kicked against the compulsory “toxicology test” that their children have been scheduled to undertake upon their resumption for the next academic session.
PUNCH reported that the test is to know if they are into drugs or not.
Besides the test, the students are individually expected to sign a form titled: “Oath Of Good Character And Compliance,” attach the same with the test result, and submit to the management upon resumption.
Punch gathered that the school management’s stance also followed the recent protest by students of the school following the murder of a 500-level Geology student by assailants.
The deceased final year student, Joseph Agabaidu, from Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State but based in Benue State was the eldest among the four children of his family who school at ATBU, Bauchi, and was stabbed to death on December 2, 2023 by suspected assailants while trying to retrieve his girlfriend’s bag, from the hoodlums who had earlier snatched it from her.
However, PUNCH reported further that the management of the school, in a bid to avoid any escalation of the incident or other unforeseen circumstances, immediately shut down the school on December 3, 2023, for an initial one week but later extended the resumption date until January 7, 2024.
As a measure to forestall any repeat of the protest in the future and to tackle the menace of drug abuse among its students, the management thus introduced the toxicology test and the signing of the oath form by all the returning students.
A specimen copy of the form obtained by PUNCH showed that it emanated from the Academic Division in the office of the Registrar of the school with reference number: ATBU/REG/ADM/24 and dated December 21, 2023.
According to the form, a student is to “promise to be of good character and ready to comply with the laid down rules and regulations guiding the conduct of students of the university.”
Individual students are also to promise “not to be involved in the use of illicit drugs as apparently stated in the Students’ Handbook.
“That, I shall also make available to the University, a medical report of toxicology test on my resumption on 8th January, 2024.
“That, I further undertake not to participate in any form of demonstration or protest on any of the University Campuses.”
The form also indicated that the students are to append their signature to other sections of the form which stated that: “If, in any way, I am found going against any of the above-mentioned paragraphs, I will be responsible for the appropriate sanction to be meted on me by the University Management.”
The students are equally required to write their: name, registration number, level, department, faculty, GSM number, signature and date, name, GSM number, signature and date of their parents or guardian, while the Head of Department is also to write his name and signature with date.
Punch's investigations from some of the students who have done the test said it cost them about N5,000, N7,000, N8,000 and N10,000, depending on the laboratory where the medical test was carried out.
A parent who wants anonymity, told informed PUNCH that his daughter told him about the test which he considers to be insensitive from the management to direct students to do so considering the cost implication.
He said, “When my daughter got admission, they asked her to do medical test and we went to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital and we spent about N9,000, at the end of the day, when she submitted the document during the registration, they didn’t accept it.
“This time around, they came up with this toxicology test, which means I’m going to spend another money to do it. I believe that this test can be done in their university clinic rather than for them to send the students to do it wherever they like.
“Some of the laboratories in town do not have medical doctors that can sign such documents. When we went to do my daughter’s medical report when she got admission, I went to a particular laboratory and when they saw where the signature is to be appended, they said they don’t have a medical doctor to sign it, and at the end of the day, I spent a lot of money at the Teaching Hospital and when it was taken to them, they didn’t take the report and now, they’re saying they should go and do another test.
“I feel this is unnecessary because parents are struggling. Imagine when that incident happened, they sent them back home shortly barely one week after they resumed, and some of them came from far distances. They went back and have now resumed. Now, the school is telling them to go do a test because something happened.
“Subjecting parents and guardians to these kind of things at this time is very painful, insensitive, and difficult for parents,” he lamented.
Another parent who simply gave his name as Mr. Peter, said although he is yet to be aware of such directives to the students by the management because his son hasn’t told him about it, nonetheless, he stressed that if it is true, then, “it is not fair to force parents, guardians and students to such test.”
He said: “I am not yet aware because my son hasn’t told me about it yet. But if that is true, then I feel that’s not fair for the management to just come up with such a directive.”
When PUNCH showed him the specimen copy of the test form, the worried parent simply responded,
“Parents are struggling to pay their childrens’ fees and to cater to their needs on campus, and you’re subjecting them to a test which I don’t see the need of.
“If you’re to pay up to N10,000 per person for the test and then you have two to three children in the university, imagine what you’ll be spending for this test and mind you, we have already paid for them to do medical test when they newly got admission into the school. It’s so unfair and insensitive, honestly.”
When contacted, the Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and the Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, ATBU, Inuwa Ibrahim and Sulisma Jatau, respectively, said they were not in support of the management’s move, adding that they were not consulted before such decisions were taken.
Ibrahim said, “I don’t know how the management came up with that decision. That is not our position, honestly, and how they arrived at that position, I don’t know.
“The management was supposed to set up a committee to investigate what happened, and the report of that investigation should be implemented. But taking a decision before even setting up a committee on what to do, I can’t explain that, honestly.
“We were not consulted, and we have not seen any official documents concerning that, we only heard it from the students. I had to ask my daughter, and she told me that it was her class rep that sent it to her; but she has yet to do it.
“Students are complaining, parents are complaining and outside Bauchi, the test costs N30,000. In Abuja, it should be more than that because someone from there (Abuja) told me they charged them N30,000 for the toxicology test.
“For now, as a union, we are not supporting this thing (the toxicology test).”
Continuing, Ibrahim insisted: “We are not happy with the management’s decision. How can you be sure of the validity of the test since you’re not the one conducting it? And what is the essence of the test? And what next? What is the correlation? You want to establish that what resulted in the demonstration of the students is that they take drugs or what?
“The fundamental issue is that a life was lost and that was what informed the protest and we expected the management to look at what have they not done to have warranted that and how can it be corrected? But not to make a decision that we don’t even know how they arrived at it.”
Jatau, on his part, said: “Honestly, the management didn’t consult us before they brought out this thing. This has placed the students at a disadvantaged position, and the process is very tedious. We don’t buy the idea. That’s the truth about that. Our union has even called for a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss this issue.
“This is needless. They should have taken other steps to curb whatever menace they see among the students, but honestly, this process is very tedious.”
When our Correspondent contacted the Director, Information and Public Relations Unit of the University, Zailani Bappa, he said that the decision was for the benefit of the students and very necessary to curb social vices among the over 10,000 students of the institution.
“We’re doing this for the good of the students. We can not bring over 10,000 students from across the country and even abroad and endanger their lives and the integrity of the university because of some few people who are bad.
“So, it is the duty of the university to first of all protect the majority of these students who are sent to us in trust by their parents. Secondly, to reform those who have gone astray. When we give out degrees, we first of all say that a student is found them worthy in character before we say and in learning. So it is our duty to be like parents for the students.
“And if you are honest, anybody who saw what happened during that demonstration will know that there are some among these students who were either under the influence of drugs or they completely had bad home training. Because you can not start doing something even if you are on the right path and your parents come to tell you that you should stop and you didn’t recognise them and almost abuse them and you refuse.
“And if you are not under the influence of drugs, after what had happened, you will show remorse, but some students were planning for something more nasty. They made the university to be closed down completely to avert those kind of problems, and you know among some of the few of them who refuse to leave but were forced later to leave after the closure.
“Do you know that one of them was even caught with a gun,” Bappa queried.
He added, “So, you see why it is important that we protect the community of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and its integrity. One of the steps we are taking is to ensure that all our students are free from hard drugs, so all students must come with that testimony so that whatever you do, you cannot hide under any excuse. You would have done it within your sanity, and you did it deliberately. So that is very important.
“And for the parents that are saying that it is harsh for them to go and do this test, if they are spending N100,000, I think it is insignificant compared to a situation where you leave your child to continue on drugs and at the end of the day, he either kills someone or he is killed or he gets arrested by the Police over a crime.
“While, if the unions are not in support, you have interviewed them, that is, for them to take any position they want. Nobody has said that for any decision the management wants to take, the unions must have to first agree to it before they take it in the proper running of the university affairs.
“The unions are there to protect the interest of the staff, not even the students. The student union body is there for the students. ASUU and SSANU are supposed to teach these students manners and education and the management is supposed to take decisions to run the university and take any decisions that are necessary to protect the interest of the institution as a whole.
“So, if the management finds something very important that is beyond it, it takes it to the Council and if the Council or the management takes a decision, it is only made known to the unions so that they bless it and maybe make observations,” he further pointed out.
Meanwhile, a student named withheld told All Campus Show that the action by the management is good but the decision and the process without carrying the Unions properly, does management thinks he owns the institution? You cannot just do something the way you wanted it, you must carry unions under you along, you may do the right thing with wrong approach, they are Professors, we should not be teaching them this, ATBU at large needs an apology from them and they should learn how to do things rightly.
Punch