Academic activities were grounded on Monday at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, following students’ protests against a hike in the institution’s tuition fees.
The students, who converged at the two gates leading to the school as early as 7 a.m., blocked the main gates of the school and barricaded the ever-busy Akure/Ilesha road to register their dissatisfaction over the new tuition introduced by the management.
The development led to a traffic jam on the road for hours as the students barricaded the busy motorway, hindering vehicular movement.
Armed with placards with various inscriptions such as “Let our parents breathe, “We came to school to study, not to kill our parents,” and “No to increment,” among others, they chanted solidarity songs to show their displeasure.
Speaking, the President of the FUTA Student Union, Comrade Olayemi Oluwasoromidayo, appealed to the management of the school to revert to the old school fees in view of the current economic challenges in the country.
According to him, the leadership of the student union body met with the management many times, but it refused to yield to their demands, hence their decision to stage a protest.
He noted that the last increment was not even up to one year before the new hike was effected, pointing out that the management had increased the school fees to over N200,000 for freshmen, while old students who were paying N35,000 would now pay N130,000.
Meanwhile, the management of the school has ordered the indefinite postponement of the resumption of students for the 2023–2024 academic session, directing all students to leave the campus within 24 hours.
The school management disclosed that the tuition for students is free but explained that certain consumables and payments for municipal services were increased.
According to the statement issued by the institution’s Director of Corporate Communication, Adegbenro Adebanjo, the management stated that “registration of returning students via the university portal and payment of fees by all returning students for the new academic session via the portal scheduled to begin on Monday, January 15, 2024, be put on hold.
“It is important to state that the university did not open the portal for registration for returning students for the new session, contrary to what was being bandied about in the public domain.
“On the proposed new fees and charges, they are mainly for student-related services that are sourced from the economy.
The costs of such goods and services provided by the university for the students will certainly be impacted by the costs of goods and services in the economy.
“To ensure the smooth running of the university, certain consumables and payments for municipal services such as electricity, water, hostel maintenance and cleaning, and sundry other services are necessary, and the costs of providing the services have shot up. The new charges are in response to this.
“Other costs that were adjusted as a result of economic reality include medical examinations for all new students, biometric ID cards, the Tertiary Institutions Students Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP) administered by NHIS for students, and the final yearbook. It is important to say that tuition is free, and no money is being charged as a tuition fee.
“The management reiterates that tuition remains free for all students and that it has an inbuilt mechanism within the system to look into and build consensus on matters affecting students, including charges and fees. That mechanism is working on this matter, and consensus will be achieved.”
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