Verity Investigation has obtained leaked and classified documents from Grand Bassa University (GBU) exposing a severe leadership crisis and broken promises that have left students in turmoil.
Once a beacon of hope for higher education in the region, GBU now stands crippled by corruption, neglect, and chaos.
Students find themselves trapped in uncertainty, reportedly abandoned by an administration that has failed them.
Graduation Fees Paid, Ceremony Denied
The leaked documents revealed that in May 2025, graduating seniors each paid $305 for a commencement ceremony scheduled for May 31. But the ceremony never took place.
The documents alleged that students were given no prior notice of postponement, no explanations, and no refunds.
Many graduates are now stuck in limbo, with their diplomas allegedly withheld by an indifferent administration.
However, leaked documents reveal a secret July 19 convocation planned for a select few, some of whom did not pay the original fee-while those who paid in May remain excluded. Rumors of a third ceremony in December only deepen confusion: One graduation, three dates, and zero accountability.
According to the leaked document, since President Joseph Boakai’s inauguration in January 2024, GBU has lacked stable governance.
Sources within the University told this paper that the Interim President Dr. Samuel Reeves, overwhelmed by multiple external roles, has been largely absent.
In his absence, unauthorized individuals reportedly control the university, making decisions behind closed doors and ignoring official statutes.
Students accuse this shadow leadership of suppressing dissent by suspending the student handbook and manipulating elections. Without a functioning Board of Trustees, no oversight exists to hold these actors accountable.
Students Struggle While Faculty Ride
A bus donated by local authorities for student transport has been allegedly commandeered by faculty. “Students endure long walks, even in heavy rain, while professors enjoy the donated vehicle,” the doc asserted.
According to sources, campus restrooms are in a deplorable state, roofless, flooded, and snake-infested.
Female students reportedly risk harassment by resorting to bushes to relieve themselves, underscoring the administration’s neglect of basic sanitation and safety.
Education Reduced to a Hollow Promise
According to the documents, academic programs are severely compromised, while engineering students design bridges they will never build, and criminal justice classes are taught by just two overworked instructors for over 100 students.
“The National Commission on Higher Education, led by an absent chairperson, has ignored mounting complaints, leaving students feeling cheated,” an anonymous source informed this paper.
Continuing, “Students raised thousands of dollars through a grassroots $1 campaign to build a vital campus footbridge. The funds have mysteriously disappeared, and the incomplete bridge continues to pose daily risks to students,” the source who asked for anonymity asserted.
Generator Donation Masks Deeper Crisis
While Senator Kangar Lawrence’s donation of a generator is appreciated, students say it only covers up deeper problems.
The document revealed that faculty strikes over unpaid salaries leave classrooms empty, yet absent instructors continue to rubber-stamp degrees. Without effective leadership, such gestures are mere band-aids on a festering wound.
Students Demand Immediate Action
The GBU students are demanding the following form their local county authorities, and national government including the immediate formation of a Board of Trustees by President Boakai, a clear timetable to appoint a new university president to investigate the graduation scandal.
They are also calling for a full transparency and accountability regarding alleged missing graduation fees and bridge funds, while also calling for an urgent intervention by the National Commission on Higher Education to prevent the university’s collapse.
The leaked document quoted that the Grand Bassa University students warning that without urgent action, the institution will become a tomb for dreams.
Meanwhile, they are pleading for intervention to restore integrity, leadership, and hope to a university mired in darkness and neglect.
