Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, has approved 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, as the institution’s official lecture period and warned staff against conducting unauthorised classes outside the approved hours.
The resolution was adopted by the University Senate at its 245th meeting at the Zephaniah Madubuko Auditorium, following consideration of recommendations from the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Lecture Monitoring.
Under the new directive, lectures scheduled outside the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. window will be treated as unauthorised unless the required approval is obtained.
The University said lecturers who conduct classes outside the approved period without authorisation would be held responsible for any incident or mishap arising from such activities.
However, the directive makes provision for lectures and practical sessions that cannot reasonably be completed within the official hours.
In such cases, the Head of Department and Dean of the relevant Faculty must provide written approval before the class can hold beyond 4:00 p.m.
The Registrar, Dr Chinenye Gloria Okeke, conveyed the Senate’s decision in an internal memorandum to the University community.
The memorandum further states that where a lecturer needs to conduct a class outside the regular lecture period, the session should, where applicable, be delivered virtually using platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Such virtual classes must be recorded and uploaded to the University’s Learning Management System (LMS), allowing the institution to monitor compliance and maintain a record of the academic activity.
The University has directed Deans, Heads of Departments, Directors and Course Coordinators to ensure strict implementation of the Senate resolution.
The new policy effectively places greater responsibility on academic units to monitor lecture schedules while providing a formal approval process for activities that must extend beyond the university’s standard teaching hours.
The directive was issued by the Public Relations Unit of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
