Students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), have raised concerns over what they describe as unexplained alterations to their GST 213 examination results, a compulsory General Studies course for 200-level undergraduates offered in the first semester.
Several affected students told the press that grades initially displayed on the university portal were later changed without official notification, resit examination, or prior engagement by lecturers or faculty authorities.
One of the affected students, Abdulsamad (surname withheld), said he became alarmed after discovering that his grade had been downgraded. “When I first checked my result, I had a B in GST 213. Yesterday evening, a friend asked me to recheck, and I discovered it had changed to a C. I didn’t write any make-up exam, and nobody contacted me. That was when I became worried,” he said.
Another student, Asiat, noted that the issue appeared widespread, cutting across faculties. “We started comparing screenshots, and the differences were clear. Nobody has explained why this is happening,” she said.
The development has reportedly triggered anxiety among students, particularly those with borderline grade points, who fear that unexplained alterations could affect their degree classification and academic standing.
Rahman, a 300-level student, said the change significantly affected his cumulative grade point average. “I had a 3.50 CGPA and was comfortably in second class upper because of distinctions from GST courses. But when my GST 213 changed from A to D, my grade dropped to second class lower. It has been a nightmare,” he said.
Some students who visited their faculties and the university’s ICT unit for clarification said they were told the changes might be due to “system updates” or “pending corrections”, without further explanation.
Reacting to the reports, the Director of the Management Information System (MIS) Directorate, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed Ladan, said the Directorate had not received any formal complaint from affected students.
According to him, the MIS Directorate does not directly handle complaints related to examination results and advised that enquiries be directed to the General Studies (GST) Examination Officer.
When contacted, the GST Examination Officer, Dr Sadat Ibn Adam, acknowledged that the issue could be linked to a technical glitch and urged affected students to formally report their cases. “It is possibly a system glitch. Any affected student should write a formal letter to the General Studies Division, clearly stating their faculty, admission number, and the affected course, for immediate intervention,” he said.
Dr Ibn Adam assured students that genuine cases would be resolved promptly, urging them to remain calm. “There is no need for panic. Once complaints are submitted, we will intervene swiftly,” he added.
Meanwhile, some other students have also reported similar alterations to their results, further deepening confusion on campus. While some students noticed improvements in their grades, others experienced downgrades, raising concerns over transparency and process.
One of the students, Ummu Salma, said she became aware of the change through a class message rather than any official communication. “Our assistant class representative asked us to recheck our grades. That was when I noticed mine had changed. To my knowledge, there was no prior request for remarking,” she said.
Another student, Usman, whose grade reportedly dropped from A to C, questioned the handling of the matter. “If this is not a technical issue, then there is a serious transparency problem,” he said.
Maimunat, whose grade reportedly changed from A to E, described the emotional toll. “Seeing an E among my As and Bs affected me badly. I felt weak and couldn’t concentrate all day,” she said.
However, some students, including Adedayo and Abdul, confirmed that their results remained unchanged, suggesting that the issue did not affect all students uniformly.
While the GST Division has confirmed that the problem is being addressed, students continue to call for an official statement clarifying whether the newly displayed results are final and accurate.
The development is not without precedent. In 2019, UDUS students similarly raised concerns over missing results and incorrect grades, as reported by The Nation newspaper on November 28, 2019, in a report by Abdulrasheed Ahmad. At the time, students accused the university of poor transparency in the processing of GST results and called for clearer display of continuous assessment and examination scores.
