Daniel Otera
More than 270 students have been withdrawn from Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, over poor academic performance, while six others have been expelled for examination malpractice, official records show.
The disciplinary decisions were reached during the 120th Academic Board meeting of the Polytechnic, held on Thursday, 17 April 2025. According to the Board, the affected students failed to meet the minimum academic requirements for progression and were consequently withdrawn at the end of the first semester of the 2024/2025 academic session.
A statement signed by the institution’s Director of Public Relations and Protocol, Uredo Omale, and made public on Monday, noted that the withdrawn students cut across 20 departments and 42 academic programmes.
These include Business Administration, Accountancy, Mass Communication, Library Science, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, and Building Technology.
The high number of withdrawals reflects mounting pressure on students in Nigeria’s tertiary education system to meet academic standards in a competitive and resource-strained environment. In many cases, students are unable to meet graduation requirements due to inadequate preparation, limited academic support, or personal challenges.
Although the Polytechnic did not disclose the specific grade benchmarks that led to the withdrawals, the scale of the action suggests a renewed effort by the institution to enforce academic regulations more stringently.
Meanwhile, six students have been expelled for examination misconduct. Among them are Daniel Onuche Gabriel, a Higher National Diploma (HND) student of Business Administration, and Yaro Abdullahi Nma, a National Diploma (ND) student of Accountancy, who were expelled for impersonation. Their actions were deemed a violation of Section 4:35 (19) of the Polytechnic’s 2021 Revised Students’ Information Handbook.
In a separate case, four students from the Department of Mass Communication were caught with unauthorised materials during examinations. Their names are Jaja Julietu, Usman Abdulgeniyu, Gimba Aminat, and Otitoju Taiwo Timilehin. Their offences breached Section 4:35 (9) of the same handbook.
The Polytechnic’s Central Examination Misconduct Committee, led by Dr Grace Ehimony, investigated the cases and presented its findings to the Academic Board, which approved the expulsion of all six students involved.
Responding to the outcome of the disciplinary process, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, commended both the Result Verification and Examination Misconduct Committees for what he described as a “thorough job”.
He also emphasised the need for continued collaboration between academic and administrative departments to uphold academic integrity.
The Rector expressed concern about the declining academic performance of some students, despite the institution’s efforts to provide a conducive learning environment.
He encouraged those still enrolled to take their studies seriously and make good use of the academic support systems in place.
As part of the disciplinary measures, all affected students have been instructed to return any property belonging to the Polytechnic, including their identity cards, to the Security Unit before their formal exit from the institution.
The Kogi Polytechnic development comes at a time when tertiary institutions across Nigeria are battling a surge in academic dishonesty and a decline in student performance.
A recent study published in the International Journal for Educational Integrity documented a worrying increase in cases of cheating, impersonation, and plagiarism across multiple institutions.
The report recommended structured student mentorship, stronger school-community engagement, and early intervention strategies as key to curbing the trend.
Although Kogi Polytechnic has taken a firm disciplinary stance, the broader issue of academic integrity continues to pose challenges that call for sustained reforms across Nigeria’s higher education landscape.
