Posted by John Ameh,Anambra on
Certificate forgery is on the increase at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, in Anambra State and it has resulted in the expulsion of another set of 129 students.
Certificate forgery is on the increase at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, in Anambra State and it has resulted in the expulsion of another set of 129 students.
Our correspondent learnt on Thursday that, a few months ago, 170 students were expelled from the institution for the same offence, bringing the total to 299.
The students were said to have been expelled following the discovery of alleged irregularities in their admissions by the authorities.
Most of those found out were said to be in the admission batches covering 2002 and 2004.
They were found to have gained admission into the school with documents bearing excellent grades, which were later established to be fake on closer examination.
A source at the school told our correspondent that 22 other students were being held in police custody for a similar offence.
It was also gathered that about five members of staff who ran a thriving admission racket at the institution had been quizzed by the police.
The polytechnic's spokesperson, Mr. Kalu Anene, confirmed the development but told our correspondent on telephone that only 18 students were being held by the police as against 22.
He said, 'Yes, the total figure is 229. The first thing we did on conclusion of investigations was to declare them persona non grata.
'Thereafter, they were expelled. It is now left to the police to prosecute them since what they did was a criminal offence."
Anene added that the members of staff under investigation would be sacked if anything incriminating was established against them.
'We are fighting a war against fraud, examination malpractices and certificate forgery. We won't stop until we get to the bottom of these problems."