Drama in Lectures: The Clash Caused by Insufficient Lecture Theatres

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By Adetunji Oluwafemi 
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, like many other tertiary institutions in Nigeria, has long been grappling with a shortage of sufficient lecture theatres. This often results in scheduling conflicts, with two or more different lectures intended to take place in the same theatre.

To address these clashes, the management of Obafemi Awolowo University provides a comprehensive provisional lecture timetable each semester. This timetable includes all courses offered by each department, assigning specific times and venues for different classes. However, it does not completely eliminate venue assignments for all courses, leading to ongoing clashes that leave both students and lecturers frustrated.

Taking the Communication and Media Studies courses (CMS, BCJ, FLP, and IMS) within the Department of Sociology and Anthropology as an example, only a few of the numerous courses that Part 3 students are enrolled in are featured on the provisional lecture timetable. Consequently, these students are forced to search for available venues whenever a lecture is scheduled. This issue extends beyond the Communication and Media Studies students, affecting other departments as well, often resulting in cancelled lectures.

At precisely 2:00PM today, Tuesday, April 29th, 2025, another instance of scheduling conflicts arose due to a shortage of lecture theatres at the Admin Extension Room C. Students from BCJ 304, LIN 204, and ICH 204 all arrived to claim the same venue for their lectures. The BCJ 304 students, who were not the original users of the room, arrived first, having used it by chance the previous week. Shortly thereafter, LIN 204 students entered, asserting that the room was theirs, as they had been using it for several weeks, excluding last week.


Arguments erupted between the students of these two departments over who had rightful access to the lecture room. Unfortunately, upon consulting the school’s general timetable, it was revealed that the venue was not assigned to either group. Meanwhile, the lecturers responsible for these courses were already discussing possible solutions when the ICH 204 students, for whom the room was originally assigned according to the OAU provisional lecture timetable, entered with their lecturer. This led to an uproar among the students, who were confused about which department was entitled to use the lecture room.

After a brief discussion among the three lecturers, the LIN 204 students were granted access to the lecture room, despite the ICH 204 class being the original user.

The Broadcast Journalism students in the BCJ 304 course were fortunate to use the ICAN Lecture Theatre after leaving the Admin Extension, as it was unoccupied at that time. Meanwhile, the Industrial Chemistry students in ICH 204 had their lecture postponed to a later date, leading to complaints about the impact of this delay on their studies. The venue for next week’s lecture for Broadcast Journalism students remains uncertain, as their use of the ICAN Lecture Theatre was coincidental. These experiences highlight the need for management to prioritise students' learning processes.


 

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