Claim: A viral claim via WhatsApp suggested that the management of the Lagos State University declared October 24, 2022 as the resumption date for the 2022/2023 academic session, urging all academic activities to commence immediately.
Conclusion: The management of the Lagos State University never made any declaration regarding the resumption date for the 2022/2023 academic session, let alone fix a October 24 as the new date for resumption.
Full Text
A viral WhatsApp post, which first surfaced on Friday evening, October 21, 2022 claimed that the management of the Lagos State University declared October 24, 2022 as the resumption date for the 2022/2023 academic session. The post titled, "LASU Resumption Date 2022" read, "LASU resumption date for the 2022/2023 academic session has been declared by the school's management to be 24th October, 2022. All academic activities are expected to resume immediately."
Verification
Immediately the viral post surfaced and got noticed by the Association of Campus Journalists (ACJ-LASU), steps were taken to ensure the authenticity of the information beyond any reasonable doubt.
First, the image was verified on two major image fact checking tools namely, Google Image Search and Tineye, and the results that were found didn't match the image tested. The origin of the image could not be traced at the time of verifying it.
Second, ACJ LASU took a step to inquire about the information from The Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations (CIPPR) via WhatsApp and LASU Life, a credible platform dedicated to showcasing the students and achievements of the Lagos State University.
In process of getting a credible information about the contents of viral post, ACJ LASU reached out to one of the administrators of the WhatsApp group named, "Students LASU Info C". The administrator who refused to give his identity or designation in the CIPPR told ACJ LASU that, "Any information not coming from any of the LASU official pages should be disregarded."
Furthermore, ACJ LASU reached out to LASU Life via their official Instagram page, to determine the genuineness of the message. LASU Life responded stating that the information was not true. Although, it is not sure of the exact date but it would be in November.
LASU Life said, "No it's not. LASU resumes November. We're not sure of the exact date yet. But it's November."
Then, on the same evening of October 21st, by 10:52pm, a statement from the office of Communication Students Association, Lagos State University (COSA-LASU) debunked the claim saying it was untrue. The statement was published via WhatsApp and was received by ACJ LASU.
In the statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the 16th COSA-LASU, Comrade, Adedeji Taiwo, the information was false and it is to be disregarded. It was stated that the expected resumption date will be on November 14, 2022.
The statement titled, "Debunkment Of Falsified Resumption Date", read, "The 16th COSA ADMINISTRATION in it's entirety implores World class communicators of this prestigious Faculty to put an end to the circulation of the false resumption date and cease to boggle their mind with it as the resumption date still remains the same which is 14th of November 2022."
Should LASU Students be worried?
Absolutely not. As long as the management of the Lagos State University, under the administration of the LASU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello has not made any announcement concerning the changes in resumption date or anything whatsoever, there is no cause for alarm. Besides, some students just concluded some of their exams on October 22, 2022.
Although, the academic calendar of the school is uninterrupted so far, if there is any last minute changes, the official pages (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) of the institution is the best and credible places to get credible and verifiable information.
Also, the viral post is most likely to be related to the recent suspension of the 8-months strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities' on October 14. This is so because since the suspension, a couple of federal universities across the nation have fast tracked the academic calendar of their institution in order to meet up with lost time as a result of the strike action. Students, in some of these affected institutions are in a race against time to meet up with a lot of academic tasks within a short period of time.
Conclusion
The viral WhatsApp post is false and misleading. Hence, it should be disregarded by students of the Lagos State University. ACJ-LASU implores students to be careful about how they consume information and share it. Always verify via the official social media pages of the Lagos State University, ACJ LASU and LASU Life.
0 Comments
What Do You say