14th October, 2010
Academic activities at the Ogun State College of Health Technology, Ilese-Ijebu in Ijebu North-East Local Government Area of Ogun State have been paralysed following students protest over increase in tuition fees.
The protesting students gathered in front of the school and barricaded the main entrance to prevent both the teaching and non-teaching staff from gaining entrance into the college.
Some of the students who spoke with our correspondent lambasted the school authorities for being insensitive to their plight, adding that the new increase will be resisted.
A former president of the students’ union of the college, Com. Moshood Giwa, disclosed that a similar increase was effected during his tenure, stressing that the school’s management has turned it into a tradition to increase fees every session.
“The school has turned the issue of increment in tuition fees to tradition. At the beginning of every session, they will come up with new fees. The students’ union government before mine experienced this crisis, but nothing concrete was achieved. During my tenure, a similar thing happened, the tuition fees were increased. We tried all we can, but all to no avail,” the student leader recalled.
The new increase, P.M.NEWS gathered, was almost 50 percent and the students have vowed not to pay the money.
With the new increase, final year students are now to pay N30,000 instead of the former N22,500. Third year students are to pay N40,000, instead of N27,500 while new intakes and the 200Level students are to pay N50,000 instead of N32,500.
When our correspondent visited the school, fully armed mobile policemen were on ground to forestall a breakdown of law and order.
President of the Students’ Union Government of the College, Com. Kazeem Luqman, assured P.M.NEWS that the students would soon return to classes following the decision of the management of the college to reduce the fees.
—Abiodun Onafuye