The most delicate week of the semester is here again. A week most students refer to as the fastest week in the semester. The lecture-free week is a week where most lecturers are done with their respective course outlines and teaching activities are over. The basic importance of this week is to allow students adequately prepare for upcoming examinations.
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However, in recent weeks before the lecture-free week, when students were undergoing several tests across all departments and preparing for examinations, finding a lecture theatre to read at night has become more difficult as some lecture theatres are discovered to be locked at night while some lecture theatres have stipulated time that they will be locked at night. This has hindered many from reading at night which is always the most utilized time for students.
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Lecture theatres such as Physics Oven, Chemistry Oven, The BOOs, 1000 seaters lecture theatre, AUD and numerous others are found to be locked at night. This has resulted in many students looking for other options to read. While the reason for locking some of these lecture theatres is for maintenance as a result of recent renovations that have been done, locking of others did not feel well with the students as other lecture rooms left open could not accommodate the students.
Speaking to Marvelous, a Part 3 student of the Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education who was reading around 10 pm at 1000 seaters lecture theatre, she explained that, they were later sent out of the lecture room because they wanted to lock it. Marvelous who was busy with her study at this time was frustrated and forced to look for another lecture theatre to read.
Habeeb, a final year student of Civil Engineering who usually reads at Chemistry Oven expressed his displeasure over the locking of the lecture theatre. According to him, ‘the directive of locking the lecture theatre is not something good, we understand it is a result of bad usage that made them decide that. However, some measures can be put in place to curb such acts’.
Daniel, a part 1 student of Educational Management lamented the fact that often, he has been locked out of 1000 seaters a number of time thereby preventing him from being able to study for a long period and as a fresher, he is usually not comfortable with walking too far into campus as he resides in the Awolowo Hall of Residence and 1000 seaters lecture theatre is the closest lecture theatre to his hall. Often when 1000 seaters lecture theatre is locked, there is always a decline in his interest to study for that night and as such he is forced to going back to his hostel to sleep.
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These among a lot of other bitter experiences have caused a lot of students to resort to cold Faculty Basements for their overnight readings as the few open lecture theatres can not accommodate the bulk of the students trying to cover up in their respective courses.