The management of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) has denied allegations of result tampering, explaining that delays and discrepancies in students’ results were caused by a transition between examination portals, inherited systemic lapses, and ongoing reforms in the institution.

The clarification was given during a media briefing by the university management following criticisms on social media over delayed results and graduation backlogs.

Speaking at the briefing, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Stella-Maris Okey, said the current management decided to address the issue publicly to correct misconceptions surrounding result administration at the university.

She explained that the Vice-Chancellor assumed office in acting capacity in January 2025 and was confirmed in July 2025, noting that the present management team has been in office for only six months and is working to resolve challenges inherited from previous administrations.

Also speaking is the Director of Exams and Results, Engr. Dr Anderson Etika said the university was already transitioning from an old result portal to a new one when the current Vice-Chancellor took office.

According to him, incompatibility between the two systems and unresolved financial liabilities on the old portal led to its shutdown before data migration was completed, making results stored in the cloud inaccessible.

He said management directed departments to retrieve hard copies of results, a process involving academic records dating back to 2002 and amounting to over five million data entries.

Etika said that to clear the graduation backlog, management approved the migration of results covering the 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 academic sessions, describing the exercise as compressing several years of work into a short period.

He added that reforms introduced by the current administration include real-time access to results once uploaded by lecturers and stricter controls to prevent result manipulation.

According to him, uploaded results can no longer be altered without the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, while lecturers are now required to upload results within two to three weeks after examinations, with sanctions, including salary withholding, for defaulters.

The management assured students that no additional fees would be charged for delays arising from systemic issues and that affected students would graduate in the sessions originally scheduled for them.

Etika also disclosed that resistance to the reforms by some staff members had contributed to tensions within the system, adding that disciplinary actions, including suspensions, removals from office, and salary stoppages, had been taken against those found culpable.

He further clarified that the result management platform currently in use is government-directed and state-owned, noting that the decision to change the system predated the current Vice-Chancellor.

He assured that results prior to the 2017 academic session would be migrated once the present challenges are stabilised. (Nigerian Tribune)