Due of financial constraints, I remained at home for a duration of three years. The pursuit of education was a powerless desire for my parents.
My dad was unable to pay the expenses, so I was able to finish my secondary school education. I can’t say I blame him; he was a powerful and nimble man up until an accident in 2022 paralyzed him.
My dad still wouldn’t let my mom work until the accident—all because of that intoxicated driver, despite her pleadings.
My mom created a little company after the accident and took out loans, but she couldn’t feed our large family. Obtaining a degree was out of the question. However, I had vowed to my dad that I would earn a legal degree.
In order to get the money I needed, I got to work. I had to do odd jobs and everything.
While I occasionally pushed wheelbarrows at the bustling Ojota market, I often accompanied bricklayers to their job locations.
My friend Saheed informed me about Havarde after I had worked hard for nearly five years, and I was curious as to whether or not I could use my funds to go into the law school there.
I came here after I confirmed that, but now I’m hearing from multiple sources that we were duped.
Right now, I’m a sophomore in college. It won’t be easy for mom to handle if this turns out to be true; I’ll be the biggest loser in the world.
This was Aina Jide’s account when our reporter visited him earlier this week in the Obada area of Abeokuta. He was situated and completely preoccupied with thoughts about the controversial Havarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, a polytechnic that offers a variety of professional courses including law, pharmacy, and nursing.
The residents were unable to specify if the institution is a polytechnic or a university, according to random interviews conducted by DAILY POST. The villagers and the students are in the same state of bewilderment.
However, the locals were pleased with the revitalization of Obada’s business districts brought about by the large student population.
National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) credentials are offered by this school, according to an online advertisement.
However, the identical polytechnic asserted in the identical advertisement that it offers B.Sc conversion programs to HND holders, sowing doubt as to whether the institution is currently accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) or has approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to grant degrees.
A student at the institution, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of scolding, confided in a MISMOB correspondent, saying, “Bros, I really do not know what to believe anymore, honestly, I am frustrated.”
A member of Olabisi Onabanjo University was identified as Havarde, he added.
He gave the range of N130,000 per year for nursing students and N195,000 per year for law students when asked about the cost of tuition.
Findings
However, as revealed in an investigation by DAILY POST, Dr. Oluwatosin Adebayo, the proprietor of the university, broke connections with OOU many years ago.
The school has not yet received university accreditation, according to research on the NUC and NBTE websites.
Harvarde College was listed among the specialized institutions offering recognized programs in an NBTE directory from 2021.
Accounting, Business Administration, Mass Communication, and Computer Science are the four National Diploma (ND) programs that the college is authorized to provide by the NBTE.
Accreditation is expected to expire in October 2022, per the NBTE.
A member of staff who wished to remain anonymous informed DAILY POST that the school had received approval to offer the aforementioned courses as a monotechnic, however this has not been officially confirmed.
But this reporter found out that the institution now offers over 30 courses, including criminology, law, nursing, and more, in addition to the four that the NBTE has approved.
The response from upper management
Dr. Oluwatosin Adebayo, the school’s proprietor, denied the accusation in an interview with DAILY POST, stating that the institution had the proper federal registration.
We will not be engaging in any unlawful activity when we get in Abeokuta. Instead of spreading false information, please come to us for clarification if something is unclear.
Our previous association with OOU has ended, and we are no longer affiliated with them. He made the statement that they cannot keep serving the same individual forever.
What he called “a rumour against the school” came from rusticated kids, he said further.
His reasoning was that “we do send students away from here,” which led to the rumors. After one year, we shall send you packing if your GP drops below 1.00 or if you exhibit any misbehavior.
“We can’t have students like that around, but the majority of them won’t even bother to return home; instead, they’ll start spreading baseless rumors.”
Even when the owner insisted that the university classes offered on campus are related, he still wouldn’t say which parent school it is.
Adebayo remarked, “We have ND, we have HND but we don’t have the power to issue Bsc on our own, so we have to affiliate,” in response to a question about the school’s awards. Our accreditation, however, does extend up to the HND level.
At the same time, Jide is one of thousands of students who are paying exorbitant prices to attend this school and get degrees.
Mismob Media