The management of the university, through an official memorandum signed by the Registrar, Mr. Ambrose G. Ugwu, has formally signaled the commencement of the final phase of the first semester for the 2025/2026 academic session. This period, characterized by the First Semester Examinations, is scheduled to begin on Monday, 2nd March 2026, and reach its conclusion on Tuesday, 24th March 2026.

This directive is not merely a procedural announcement but a high-stakes administrative mandate designed to uphold the university’s standards of excellence. It serves as a final call to action for both academic staff and students to align with the institution’s regulatory framework. The following analysis explores the logistical, financial, and academic implications of this memorandum, providing a roadmap for successful compliance and performance.

The Digital Gatekeeper: Understanding the February 28th Portal Closure

The most critical juncture mentioned in the Registrar’s memo is the definitive closure of the university portal on February 28th, 2026. In the modern era of educational management, the digital portal serves as the primary ledger for all student activities.

The closure of the portal represents a “data freeze.” Beyond this date, the university’s ICT infrastructure will no longer accept course registrations, fee updates, or profile modifications. This is a strategic move to ensure that the Directorate of Academic Planning and the Exams and Records office have a fixed, unalterable dataset from which to generate examination materials. For students, this means that any delay in clicking the “Submit” button on their registration dashboard is effectively a self-imposed exclusion from the semester’s assessments.

The “Single Print” Policy: Administrative Finality and Security

A significant highlight of Mr. Ugwu’s directive is the introduction—or reinforcement—of the “Single Print” policy for examination class lists. The Registrar has explicitly stated that the class list will be printed once, latest by February 28th, and no supplementary lists will be generated thereafter.

This policy serves three primary institutional goals:

1. Elimination of “Squatting”: It prevents students who have not fulfilled their financial obligations from infiltrating examination halls under the guise of “awaiting clearance.”

2. Logistical Precision: By having a fixed number of students per course, the university can print the exact number of question papers and answer booklets required, significantly reducing administrative waste and the risk of paper leakage.

3. Audit Trail Integrity: It ensures that every student who sits for an exam has a corresponding digital footprint, making the post-examination result computation process seamless and less prone to manual errors.

Financial Regularization: The Prerequisite for Academic Participation

The memorandum places a heavy emphasis on the payment of “all necessary fees.” At this stage of the academic session, financial regularization is no longer just a bursary requirement; it is a prerequisite for academic survival.

Students must ensure that all tuition, departmental levies, and laboratory fees are cleared. The university’s automated system is designed to “grey out” the registration portion of the portal for any student with an outstanding balance. Consequently, if a student cannot register, their name will not appear on the “Single Print” class list. This interconnectedness between the Bursary and the Registry ensures that the university maintains the necessary funding to provide the materials and security required for a month-long examination exercise.

Strategic Directives for Academic Leadership

The Registrar has directed all Deans, Heads of Department (HODs), and Invigilators to ensure “strict compliance.” This directive shifts the burden of enforcement to the faculty level.

• Heads of Department: Are tasked with verifying that all course lecturers have uploaded their Continuous Assessment (CA) scores before the portal lock.

• Invigilators: Are mandated to act as the final gatekeepers. On examination day, they are required to cross-reference the student’s identity card and examination docket against the officially printed class list. Any student not on the list, regardless of their pleas or claims of “technical issues,” must be politely but firmly excused from the hall to maintain the sanctity of the process.

Psychological and Academic Preparation for Students

With the examinations spanning approximately three weeks (March 2nd to March 24th), students are urged to adopt a marathon mindset. The Registrar’s call to “prepare themselves adequately” extends beyond administrative compliance to intellectual readiness.

The university library and departmental reading rooms are expected to see a surge in usage. Students are encouraged to:

• Review Course Outlines: Ensure all topics covered during the 13 weeks of lectures are understood.

• Verify Venues: Consult the Time Table and Space Committee’s finalized schedule to avoid “venue confusion,” which is a leading cause of examination anxiety.

• Collect Dockets: Ensure they have physical copies of their registered course forms and examination cards, as digital versions may not be accessible if mobile devices are prohibited in the halls.

The Role of the Time Table and Space Committee

The inclusion of the Chairman of the Time Table and Space Committee in the memorandum’s CC list highlights the logistical complexity of the upcoming weeks. Managing thousands of students across multiple faculties requires a precise allocation of halls. The committee’s role is to ensure that there are no “clashes”—where two large classes are assigned the same hall at the same time—and that there is sufficient “breathing room” between sessions for invigilators to reset the environment.

Conclusion: A Call to Professional Responsibility

The memorandum from Ambrose G. Ugwu is a reminder that a university functions on the dual pillars of Academic Freedom and Administrative Discipline. As the portal set-to-close date of February 28th approaches, the window for excuses is rapidly narrowing.

For the Academic Staff, this is a period of heightened vigilance in assessment and invigilation. For the Students, it is a period of accountability. By adhering to these directives, the university community ensures that the degrees eventually awarded are backed by a transparent and rigorous process. March 2nd marks the beginning of the harvest season for the intellectual seeds sown at the start of the session; let every stakeholder ensure they are prepared for the reaping.