Students of Lagos State University (LASU) have appealed to the school management to postpone the second semester examination till the nine-day Oro rites in Iba Kingdom, the institution’s host community, are concluded.
The students made the appeal yesterday following the challenges facing academic activities, particularly exams, with the ongoing Oro festival in Iba Kingdom.
Findings by The Guardian revealed that the Oniba of Iba Kingdom, Oba Sulaimon Adeshina Raji-Ashade, in conjunction with the elders of the Iba community, had notified the institution of the yearly Oro festival rites.
The festival was scheduled to last for nine days. The notice also specified that on Monday, August 25, and Friday, August 29, 2025, the Oro rites would be held between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
The school management also, in a notice sent to students and staff of the institution, directed staff and students to refrain from unnecessary movement within the Iba community during the stipulated hours, and that academic, administrative, and personal activities should be scheduled to take place outside the affected timeframe.
The notice, signed by the Coordinator, Centre for Information and Public Relations, Lagos State University, Oluwayemisi Thomas-Onashile, directed all staff and students to exercise caution and remain law-abiding.
The university also reiterated its commitment to the safety and welfare of all members of the LASU community and encourages everyone to cooperate fully during this period.
But the students, who started their exams on August 18, expressed frustrations with the way the exams clashed with the festival and the challenges they faced.
A 300-level student of Business Administration, Emmanuel, who stays off campus at Obadore, lamented how the festival hours clashed with their exams.
He said the school management had initially assured that the examinations would not be postponed, but would be shifted to a time outside the stipulated timeframe when the Oro rites would be held. He added that the management later directed students to arrive between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. before the commencement of the Oro rites.
The Guardian reached out to the school management, but calls and a message sent to them went unanswered as of press time.
