Exclusive: Result Alteration, Transcript Scandal Rock University of Uyo

On kegs of gunpowder

A storm is brewing at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, as anger and despair among students and graduates caught in a bureaucratic nightmare and result alterations reach critical levels.

At the heart of the crisis are delayed transcripts, which have left many former students stranded and unable to pursue further studies or get jobs.

The other, however, is a professor at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, who is alleged to have consistently altered students’ results in exchange for cash and sundry benefits.

Students seeking their transcripts at the university are expressing growing frustration over endless delays, missing records, and unexplainable huddles, all leading back to one name: Caroline Etteh.

Transcript nightmare

For years, Ette, a non-academic staff member, has been at the centre of mounting complaints, with many former students accusing her of deliberately frustrating their efforts to obtain essential academic records.

The outrage has now spilt onto social media, where hundreds have come forward to share harrowing experiences of missed opportunities, lost scholarships, and even rescinded job offers because their transcripts were trapped in Etteh’s office.

Investigations by West Africa Weekly have uncovered a troubling pattern of how Etteh’s actions have affected the future of some of the university’s graduates.

Many have been forced to abandon postgraduate admissions abroad, while others have lost career-defining positions due to unnecessary transcript delays.

Many graduates who encountered her shared their sad experiences on Facebook in a post that read, “There’s Pharaoh, and there’s one woman in charge of transcripts in Uniuyo.”

One Supreme Eteng, who shared his ordeal, said that despite being a First-Class graduate and the best-graduating student of his set, people thought he had a carryover because he frequently visited the school to pursue his transcript.   

In a post titled “University of Uyo Transcript Saga (My Story),” he said, “I know what I went through to get my transcript at Uniuyo before going for my first Master’s in OAU and then before I japa to Study here in the UK.

I don’t like to talk about it. People who saw me at UniUyo back then would think I had a carryover, while I am a first-class graduate and the best-graduating student in my set.”

He also revealed that he obtained his transcript from Nottingham Tent University the same day his results were published. “Today, I’m a graduate of Nottingham Tent University. In less than a year, I’ve finished my Master’s and done my convocation.

“I have my M.A Certificate. No long story. I got everything the same day I did my convocation. I got my transcripts the same day my results were published online,” he said.

He urged the university authorities to call to order staff members who make it difficult for students to transition to the next phase of their lives.

Of cash for marks

At the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, the storm is about Prof. Uwem Akpan, a ranking academic and the Coordinator of Undergraduate Research Projects.

His colleagues accused Akpan of manipulating students’ results in exchange for cash and other favours.

Trouble started when some of his colleagues found that the scores uploaded on the university’s result portal were at variance with what they gave some students.

Angered by the development, one of the lecturers petitioned the Dean, Prof. Peter Esuh and demanded a probe.

The petition, written by a senior professor in the faculty, was to exonerate him and members of his panel from rumours of their participation in the results alteration.

Amid the crisis, Akpan was said to have boasted that he had done no wrong and could not be held accountable by the leadership of the faculty.

What the authorities said

When West Africa Weekly contacted Mrs Etteh via SMS regarding her role in the transcript saga, she responded, “Good afternoon, Sir/Ma. I work for an institution & I am not authorised to speak for the institution. The director of information is the only authorised person to speak for the institution. Thank you.”

We also contacted the Director of Information, Mr. Udoro Udoekpo, to seek the university’s response. Mr Udoekpo said, “I wouldn’t have the competence to answer that question except if you ask the registrar. But I will quickly say we do not take complaints from social media.

If any of our alumni is aggrieved, they know the proper channel to address their grievances to management and see if it will not be addressed. But if you go to social media and mention a name and go ahead and say you have some issues with the name, how do we get involved?” he questioned.

“That alumnus that applied for a transcript and could not get one has the person written any formal complaint to the university or the registrar? Is there an official petition about this, Caroline, and has nothing happened? So, I don’t think it’s proper just to say something on social media, and people quarrel about it, and you dabble into it.

“If any student or alumni comes back for their certificate, transcript, or whatever, the university has an obligation to the person. So, if the person along the line has any hitches or confrontations, he should report officially,” he added.

On the alteration of marks, the Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Prof Peter Esuh, said a panel had been set up to investigate the allegations, adding that the committee’s findings will be reported to the higher authority. 

He told West Africa Weekly, “There was a report like that. We usually do the project report in panels A, B, C, and D, with a coordinator in charge. The coordinator’s duty is to compile a panel’s report and upload it to the ICT portal, but we noticed issues bothering panel results.

“A panel chairman reported that the portal scores differ from what he submitted. So, a panel has been set up to investigate the issue and any infringement on the university portal. Once the investigating panel report is out, it will go to the faculty board and from there, it will go to the vice-chancellor.”

Prof Esuh said the situation is not a media issue and can only be if the university fails to take necessary action following the investigative panel’s findings. He added that the ICT department had been directed to shut down the portal pending investigations.

These are not newspaper things; these are internal university procedures. The university has procedures to handle such matters, so the faculty is just working on the university procedure. Whatever disciplinary decision the university senate takes is what the university will take, so it goes beyond the faculty level.

“The duty of the faculty is to set up a preliminary investigation panel, which is what we have done,” he said.

Efforts to reach the university’s registrar, Mrs Blossom Okorie, to speak on the two issues did not yield results. She was “in a meeting” and did not respond to calls, WhatsApp or text messages. Prof Akpan also did not respond to SMS or WhatsApp messages.

Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor, through the registrar’s office, has warned staff members and exam officers of dire penalties for withholding students’ results. This follows reports that some staff members withhold students’ results, leading to mix-ups in their course registrations.

“The vice-chancellor has received reports that some lecturers and examination officers are withholding students’ results,” the memo reads. This practice has led to students unknowingly registering for courses they have already passed while failing to register for courses they did not pass.

The VC cautioned that any lecturer found prolonging the release of students’ results will face penalties under the university’s disciplinary measures outlined in the university regulations.

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Kangmwa Gofwen

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