The Management of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, has suspended the Students’ Union of the institution and postponed the first-semester examination over protest by the students.
The Students had earlier today Monday, January 9, 2023, protested the increase in hostel refusal fees by the management of the institution.
The students, in their hundreds, blocked the school gate and the ever-busy Sango-Poly junction, thereby causing gridlock before heading to the State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan. All the roads within the Secretariat have also been blocked.
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It was gathered that the hostel refusal fee was initially N5,000 before the management increased it to N15,000.
One of the protesters, Abiodun, other name is withheld, said, “We normally pay N30,000 for accommodation every season but for those who don’t want to stay in the hostel, they pay N5,000 refusal fee. But the management just woke up and said that it has increased the refusal fee from N5,000 to N15,000.”
“The management also said the hostel fee is compulsory now for all the students, including those who are not staying in the campus (off campus),” she explained.
It was contained in a statement from the institution signed by the Registrar, Mrs Modupe Fawale, disclosed that the examination had been postponed until further notice and the Students’ Union suspended indefinitely.
Describing the protest as ill-motivated and politically inclined, the Management claimed the students’ union body had not made a formal complaint to the Management concerning the examination slated to commence today.
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The Management further noted that the students’ Union breached the rule of decency by locking all the gates that lead to the Institution and thereby causing unwarranted hardship to their Colleagues, to the Staff of the Institution, to their host communities, to the neighbouring university of Ibadan, and to the general public at large, most especially those that have official transactions with The Polytechnic Ibadan.
The statement read in part, “It is on record that The Polytechnic, Ibadan students pay one of the lowest tuition fees among their contemporaries in the South-West. Payment of tuition has been made flexible and convenient as students pay 60 per cent of the tuition fee during the first semester and pay the remaining 40 per cent during second semester. The Institution has not increased tuition in the last couple of years.
“Protesting on a day that they should be sober and commence their examination which is a major academic activities leading to the award of their diploma is ill advised, politically motivated and therefore of no reasonable value to the students and indeed to the development of education.
“The Management is reviewing the situation and will issue a statement on when the suspended examination will commence. We appeal to the students to return to class and prepare for their examination. We also appeal to the parents and guardians to call their wards to order.”
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