The students studied Introduction to Politics (POL 101) with the lecturer (name withheld) last semester (2024-2025), claiming victimisation by the latter through the grading process.
In the petition the students stated that the lecturer's actions "significantly affected the learning experience and created a challenging and unproductive classroom environment".
On unfair grading, the students underscored "a troubling pattern regarding the grading, specifically the relationship between assignment scores and exam results. Over 30 students have reported that their assignment scores plus their test marks directly match their exam scores. This raises concerns that the exam grades were not based on actual performance but may have been copied from the sum of assignment and test scores. This cannot be coincidental and suggests a review and remarking of the scripts".
On invalid marks given to students, they stated that it is not the lecturer's job to either pass students who are not deserving or accord exceptions, relaying: "A student (matriculation number withheld) who did not do the exam was able to score “C” and majority of those who did the exam failed to secure D talk less of C, signifying that [the lecturer] gave unfair, invalid or random marks to students. According to the data we collected, 4 students scored F, 23 students scored D, 7 students scored C-, 2 students scored C, and one student scored C+. This is a testament that the marks are either unfair or invalid."
They also accused the lecturer of lack of professionalism, alleging frequent late arrival to class, exhausting hours discussing personal and family achievements - particularly his son’s accomplishments - rather than the subject matter.
"This behaviour is inappropriate and detracts from the educational experience," the students state in the petition.
Also, the students have expressed concerns over the grading system of the lecturer, saying it appears to favour students who purchase his lecture handouts. They captured a message posted by the lecturer on their class page, asking those who bought the handouts to indicate their names and matriculation numbers, which he states were important for continuous assessment purposes.
"This implies that students who have not purchased his handouts are at disadvantage when it comes to assessments and grading, which is unfair and unethical," the students outlined in the petition.
Moreover, the students noted that the lecturer considers any attempt at class participation or questioning of his lectures as an “attack” on him, adding that "this discourages students from engaging in meaningful dialogue and seeking clarification, further hindering the educational process".
In this regard, the students recommended in the petition that the administration collect structured and consistent feedback from students about all lecturers, including their teaching methods, professionalism, and classroom behaviour; conduct class observations to assess the quality of instructions; monitor students performance in relation to lecturers’ courses, as well as consider alternate faculty for the course (Introduction to Politics)
"Finally, we’ll want you to act accordingly and do the needful because a lecturer cannot give unfair, invalid or random marks to students. We want our scripts to be remarked or be given another exam. So we want justice. We sincerely believe that addressing these concerns will improve the quality of education at the University of The Gambia and foster a more supportive academic environment.”
"We respectfully request that the university administration thoroughly investigate these issues and take appropriate action to resolve them in a fair and timely manner. We trust that you will consider our concerns seriously and work toward a solution that promotes the academic success and well-being of all students and we look forward to hearing from you in one week time (7 days). Thank you for your time and attention to this matter."
Meanwhile, these students are now saying that the university administration has not shown commitment in resolving the matter, after two months or so since the petition was submitted. Muhammed Lamin Jallow, a young first year Political Science student leading the aggrieved students, affirmed as such.
He stated that he has made a number of follow ups since then and has been waiting but nothing is yet to be done, even though the Dean of the School of Arts said the matter had been referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the school.
The university authorities - Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics have all not responded.
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