The Vice Chancellor of the University Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi has stated that her Administration has zero tolerance for all forms of exam malpractice.

Prof. Florence Obi stated this during the 2023 edition of Children's Day with the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Cross River State (NIPR-CRS) Chapter held at the Chinua Achebe Arts Theatre, University Of Calabar.

Represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Eno Nta, the Vice Chancellor charged  students from the participating schools to prove themselves in reading and learning and shun all forms of exam malpractice, adding that, there is no shortcut to attaining academic excellence.

 

She used the occasion to inform that the Management of the University has put in place a system of ensuring that results are being uploaded almost immediately, thereby blocking avenues for the hydra-headed "sorting" bedevilling the system.

The varsity Administrator commended the NIPR Cross River State Chapter for organizing such a yearly programme which is aimed at sensitizing and educating the young ones by showing them the way forward in different aspects of our National lives including achieving credible elections in Nigeria.

Prof. Obi urged the participants to pass on every message got from the resource persons  to their schools, family and friends, this is even as she said the University is always open and ready to assist.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the occasion and National Women Leader of the APC, Dr Betta Edu applauded the NIPR for their effort in involving the youths by exposing them to the importance of promoting credible elections which will, in turn, make them advocates for their schools, families and peers.

Dr Edu who was represented by the immediate past Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Janet Ekpenyong stated that using Public Relations as a tool is very key, noting that, the last general election's mass turnout was a result of public relations engagement in educating the public about the need to be involved in electing a credible leader.

Dr Betta also commended the University Management for providing a conducive environment for the students to learn.

In a remark, the State Chairman, of CRS-NIPR, Mr Okache Benedict Onah said it is imperative to nurture and empower the young ones early with proper voter education as an important step towards achieving credible elections in Nigeria.

Mr Okache informed me that it has become the tradition of the chapter to organize an annual event for the youths geared towards building and encouraging a culture of professionalism and excellence.

The Chairman said the event aimed to enlighten the students on the negative effects of election violence and corruption, adding that the sensitizing will continue every year to ensure proper education and understanding of their responsibilities in promoting credible elections in Nigeria.

He appreciated the efforts of the Vice Chancellor in providing a conducive environment for the event.

The event which was preceded by an inter-school essay writing competition featured a keynote paper presented by Dr Stanislaus Iyorza of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Calabar on the topic; "The Role of Public Relations as a Voter Education Tool for Achieving Credible in Nigeria".

Highpoint of the event was the presentation of prizes to winning schools and a certificate of participation to others.