Oguntoye Sodiq
Students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have staged a protest against various issues, including a hike in the acceptance fee for newly admitted students.
The students who stormed the school gate began the protest early Monday, displaying placards with different inscriptions such as #No To Increment of Tuition Fee, #Rector Must Go, and #Release our Result ASAP, among others.
The Nigeria Police Force was also in attendance.
The students expressed concerns about delayed results, staff shortages, and the increased acceptance fee, which rose from N35,000 to N50,500 due to a claimed lack of subsidy from the state government. The delay in result releases has impacted academic performance.
The Students Union President, Babatunde Adelola, stated that attempts to communicate with the Rector, Adeoye Odedeji, were unsuccessful, and they demanded a reversal of the fee increase and prompt release of outstanding results.
His words: “We have many reasons to protest. Recently, the school said they are not getting funding from the state government and they need to generate funds internally which was why they increased the acceptance fee from N35,000 to N50,500.
“Aside from the hike in fee, the delay in the release of our result is affecting students. For instance, those who graduated last session are yet to be mobilized for service, I am in HND 2 second semester and I am yet to see the result of the exams I did in HND 1 second semester. This is affecting students because they do not know their academic standing and how well to prepare for the next exams.”
One student, Olamide Ojelade, voiced concerns that tolerating the acceptance fee hike could potentially lead to an increase in overall school fees.
The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Yemi Ajibola, claimed that the students did not formally communicate their grievances to the school, which hindered the resolution of the issues.
He said, “The management is not aware of their grievances because they did not inform us of any reason why they are protesting. The management needs to be informed of what their grievances are for the management to be able to sit and deliberate on them. If they channel their grievances appropriately, it will be attended to.”