Some students of the University of Ibadan, on Wednesday, took to the streets to protest against the recent hike in tuition fees and power supply rationing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesting students wore masks to hide their identities, with some blocking the main entrance to the school and others around the Senate Building.
NAN also reports that a document sighted by NAN indicated that the decision to stage the protest was a sequel to the resolution reached an emergency congress held within the institution on Tuesday.
“The resolution of the emergency congress/demonstration on the night of 16 July 2024 is that the union will embark on a peaceful demonstration on 17 July 2024 by 5:30 am.
“Sequel to this, there is to be a mass boycott of lectures and classes today as transportation will not be available on campus,” the document, signed by the Council of Faculty President (COFP), read in part.
It listed the demands of the students to include: the reversal of the new electricity rationing policy and the total reversal of school fee hike.
A 200-level student of Political Science, who spoke with NAN, said that the Federal Government and the school management should help Nigerians who were already grappling with the present economic hardship to have an education.
According to him, some of his colleagues are now contemplating quitting their studies because of the hike in the school and utility fees.
“The present school fees are too much for us; we can’t afford it. We need an education subsidy.
“Those studying Psychology are now to pay ₦140,000, while those in Political Science are paying about ₦80,000. There are some other departments that are paying more than ₦300,000.
“There is so much anger among the students, but this is a peaceful protest to call on the federal government and the school management to reconsider their stand on the tuition fees,” he said.
The student said that the management had, on Monday, released a memo notifying them of electricity rationing and a 100% increase in utility fees.
Another 300-level Theatre Arts student said that fee increments at the university had now become an annual thing. She said that she paid ₦70,000 in 2023 and about ₦100,000 now, lamenting that the fees had continued increasing since she gained admission into the university.
The student expressed regret that nothing seemed to be working anymore in the institution, as many lecturers were now in the habit of cancelling lectures at will.
“Jaja Clinic is not functioning as it should. We have just one doctor taking care of about 4,000 students.
“There is no light; there is no water; I felt that if we kept quiet, the situation might get worse,” she stated.
The student said that the hardship had become unbearable, as they fetched water from private hotels in the school to bathe and wash their clothes.
Another student also said that the electricity rationing was not in the best interest of the students.
“We are given only five hours during the day and five hours at night and this only favours us when we are in the classrooms but by the time we get back to our hotels, there will be no light,” the student added.
NAN reports that the institution, in an internal memo dated July 16 and signed by the Director of Works, O.A. Adetolu, said that the Vice-Chancellor had approved a 10-hour daily electricity supply on campus.
According to the memo, there will be electricity supply from 8 am to 2 pm and 10 pm to 2 am. Efforts by NAN to contact the Students’ Union President of the institution proved abortive, calls put across to him were not answered.
However, in her reaction, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Joke Akinpelu, said that the management had been meeting with the students to resolve the issue.
“We just had another meeting with the students now to resolve the issue,” she noted.