Students of Lagos State University (LASU) have appealed to the school management to postpone the second semester examination until the ongoing nine-day Oro festival in Iba Kingdom, the institution’s host community, is concluded.
The appeal follows disruptions to academic activities, especially examinations, as the festival, led by the Oniba of Iba Kingdom, Oba Sulaimon Adeshina Raji-Ashade, and elders of the community, restricts movement during specific hours.
The festival, which lasts nine days, includes rites scheduled for Monday, August 25, and Friday, August 29, between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
In a notice, the university management advised staff and students to avoid unnecessary movement within the community during the stipulated hours and urged caution and compliance with directives to ensure safety.
Examinations had commenced on August 18, but students complained that the timings of the rites clashed with their schedules.
Some lamented that, despite earlier assurances that exams would be adjusted to avoid conflicts, management only directed students to arrive between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. before the start of the rites, which many described as inconvenient.