Student Samuel F. Elijah fraudulently graduated from the College of Business and Public Administration, after he maneuvered his way and succeeded in being qualified by the Clearance Committee.
In a letter revoking Samuel's fraudulent degree, UL President Dr. Emmet A. Dennis, wrote: "The Administration has carefully traced [the] trail of your dishonest sojourn at the university and has concluded that your every step has been marked with malicious intent to academically rob the institution of its approved procedures for your personal benefit."
Dr. Dennis concluded that in view of the above, "Your May 2012 degree is hereby revoked with all activities during your stay on the campuses vaporized as if you never entered these walls of Lux-In- Tenebris; and that all privileges and honor appertaining to said degree are hereby forthwith withdrawn."
Sources at the University of Liberia confided in this paper that student Samuel Elijah manipulated the system by utilizing the highest malfeasance to coerce his way for graduation.
A New Dawn investigation established that Samuel gained admission to the university during the first semester of 2006/2007 academic year with an assigned identification number of 44362, and applied on April 1, 2012 for May 2012 graduation.
According to him, when he earlier applied to graduate in December 2011, he had "some deficiencies like one AB (absent) and one NG (no grade) that needed to be cleared. All attempts by Mr. Konah (his proxy) for him to graduate in December were futile."
Sources further revealed that student Elijah cajoled authorities of the graduation clearing committee to award him grades which he did not earn. Consequently, he graduated without completing the required four-year curriculum of the Accounting Department, meaning he did not finish the six semesters of the eight semesters required for graduation.
Academic dishonesty continues to remain one of the major challenges faced by the state-owned university, and the story of Samuel F. Elijah is the latest incident.
In May 2011, the Emmet Dennis-led administration similarly revoked the degree of D. Caesar Freeman of the College of Business and Public Administration, two weeks after the May 4, 2011 commencement.
Freeman was in cohort with Mr. Janjay Jacobs, a Teaching Assistant and A.B. Jallah, an Accounting Instructor, who both are said to have aided him to fraudulently qualify for graduation. Janjay Jacobs and A.B. Jallah were members of the clearing committee of the College, who processed the candidate's records through the Accounting Department.
Institutions of higher learning here have come under criticisms for putting out poorly prepared graduates for the job market thereby raising questions about the country's educational standard.
Speaking at one of the commencement convocation of the University of Liberia, the Visitor to the University, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf noted that most students were graduating from college with 6th and 9th Graders' brains.
President Sirleaf added that the universities were graduating students in disciplines that have become irrelevant to the current demands of the economy.
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