A total of 49 final-year students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) are at risk of expulsion after a result verification process revealed they had allegedly submitted fake National Diploma (ND) results for admission into the institution’s Higher National Diploma (HND) programs.
The polytechnic, through an update released by its administration on Thursday, confirmed that the affected students had presented fraudulent ND certificates from various institutions, including The Polytechnic, Ibadan, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa, and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, all located in Oyo State.
The fraudulent results were discovered following the polytechnic’s comprehensive verification of documents submitted by HND applicants. Affected students come from several disciplines, including Mass Communication, Pharmaceutical Technology, Marketing, Science Laboratory Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Accountancy.
In response to the revelations, the institution had announced on Monday the indefinite closure of the polytechnic after students planned a protest. The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Yemi Ajibola, explained that the delay in the release of results was due to the verification process, which identified several cases of fake results.
Ajibola clarified that the polytechnic employs an internal system to verify the credentials submitted by students, which revealed that some results were unverified or falsified. However, he stressed that the affected students would not be immediately expelled. Instead, they would be given the opportunity to defend their results before any final decision is made.
“We have our internal mechanisms for verifying results submitted by every student of the polytechnic,” Ajibola said. “Students will be notified to come and defend the results they presented. If the verification process was faulty, we will rectify the error. However, anyone who fails to justify their results will be expelled.”
Meanwhile, tensions have also risen over a recent incident involving the Ogun State government and the students. While the government claimed that the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, narrowly escaped an attack from the protesting students, the students contend that it was the deputy governor’s security personnel who fired shots at them during the confrontation.