Rector of the Institution, Onengiye Goergewill disclosed this when the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Education visited the school on oversight function.

Georgewill said apart from the sacked 10 lecturers, 7 others were also suspended for same offence, with several others demoted.

He expressed delight on the 14 years jail term proposed by the Nigeria Senate for sex for grades and advocated for a 20-year jail term for any offender.

“We have been doing this even before the issue that started trending. We have been doing this before the Bill was presented.

“We have a very proactive governing board. When they came, the issue of illicit sex and examination malpractices became their focus.

“They identified these issues and set up a structure to look into them and that’s why we have been able to identify some of our staff that indulge in them,” he said.

Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Christian Ahiakwo expressed satisfaction on the progress recorded by the school.

Ahiakwo also expressed delight on the sack of some lecturers who were engaged in sex for grades, just as he urged the school management to sustain its anti-corruption stand.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who made the remark at the formal presentation of Sexual Harassment Policy Document by the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on the unveiling of the document following the recent British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) sex-for-grades investigation report on some African universities.

Adamu, represented by Mrs Ijeoma Duru, an Assistant Director, Tertiary Education Department in the Ministry, said students to study well to avoid undue exposure to sexual predators.

“The Federal Ministry of Education is embarrassed with the allegations of sex-for-grades in Nigeria’s higher institutions.

“Girls should read their books and be able to defend their certificates and as such, make them less vulnerable to sexual predators.

“They (female students) should stop going to lecturers unnecessarily and also should not harass their lecturers,” NAN reported.

The minister added that UNIPORT was the first university in the country to unveil a policy document against sexual harassment on campus.

According to him, the policy will go a long way in addressing the danger of sexual harassment in institutions of learning.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Ndowa Lale, also stated that the university frowned at sexual misconduct and was taking actionable steps to tackle the menace.

He said the document defined the rules of engagement between lecturers, administrators and students, including visitors to the university.

“The document unambiguously defines what constitutes sexual harassment and the sanctions to be taken against those who wittingly and unwittingly infringe on its provisions in the line of duty.

“Henceforth, lecturers and administrators who do not remember to sow zippers in front of their trousers should be ready to bear the consequences of their amorous liaison with female students.

“Also, students who harass lecturers to award them undeserved grades should equally be ready to face the music if and when they are caught in the act of self-advertisement to their lecturers.

“Similarly, any randy Juliet (female student) who blackmails vulnerable male students or colleagues, and any visitor who believes that UNIPORT is hunting ground for cheap sex would be prosecuted,” he warned.

Lale added that any person accused of sexual misconduct would be presumed guilty until such allegation was proved otherwise, under the established rules of fair hearing.

NAN reports that the university’s Principal Assistant Registrar for Communication, Mrs Taiwo Oloyede, in a statement said that the move “is in continuation of the institution’s unrelenting campaign against the menace of sexual harassment and other forms of inappropriate behaviours.”

The statement read in part, “The task force has the mandate to examine the extant University of Lagos policy on sexual harassment, receive complaints from faculties, departments and other units concerning matters that border on sexual harassment.

“It is to also receive oral and written testimonies from staff and students involved in cases of sexual harassment and recommend appropriate sanction for offenders.

“The task force, in addition to other functions, will put forward counselling and other therapies for mitigating the adverse effects of sexual harassment on victims and carry out other duties aimed at eradicating the ugly trend from the institution.’’

Oloyede reiterated the institution’s commitment to stamping out the menace of sexual harassment and related offences from its campuses.

She noted that the university “would spare no effort in ensuring that it remained a foremost citadel of learning and promoting excellence in character.’’