The management of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, yesterday announced the indefinite closure of the institution following a protest embarked upon by its students at the Governor’s Office to demand for the reversal in their tuition fees.
The protest, though initially peaceful, nearly degenerated into a breakdown of law and order as policemen attached to the complex fired teargas canisters at the protesting students, forcing them to scamper for safety.
This created panic in the area as commuters and traders abandoned their wares and ran for their lives.
The development also caused traffic gridlock in the area as vehicles heading towards the secretariat were forced to make a detour as all entrant gates leading into the secretariat complex were firmly locked by security operatives.
The Polytechnic’s management, in a statement by its Registrar, Tosho Ayanwale, attributed the closure of the institution to the lawless attitude of the students who invaded the Governor’s Office to demand for the reversal in their tuition fees.
Coincidentally, Governor Abiola Ajimobi and other leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were holding an interfaith service within the Governor’s Office when the students arrived at the scene.
Ayanwale said the directive was with immediate effect and urged parents to call their wards to comply with the management’s decision.
The students in their hundreds, had pleaded with the new government to review the high fees imposed on them by the immediate past administration of Adebayo Alao-Akala.
One of the student leaders, who spoke with journalists on the condition of anonymity, deplored the hike in tuition fees by the Alao-Akala administration, saying a fresh Higher National Diploma (HND) student pays over a hundred thousand naira.
“The fresh HND 1 students are made to pay about N84,000 while the old students pay N47,500. The accommodation fee is N17,500 and we hardly have electricity supply and water. There are no facilities in the hostels, yet the management is forcing us to pay.
“This is unacceptable to us. We have paid 60 per cent of the fees and they are compelling us to balance up within a week. We cannot agree with this. Governor Ajimobi had before his inauguration promised to remove 50 per cent of the fees. We have paid even more than half of the fees and so we are calling on the governor to address the situation”, he said.
Source: Guardian
The protest, though initially peaceful, nearly degenerated into a breakdown of law and order as policemen attached to the complex fired teargas canisters at the protesting students, forcing them to scamper for safety.
This created panic in the area as commuters and traders abandoned their wares and ran for their lives.
The development also caused traffic gridlock in the area as vehicles heading towards the secretariat were forced to make a detour as all entrant gates leading into the secretariat complex were firmly locked by security operatives.
The Polytechnic’s management, in a statement by its Registrar, Tosho Ayanwale, attributed the closure of the institution to the lawless attitude of the students who invaded the Governor’s Office to demand for the reversal in their tuition fees.
Coincidentally, Governor Abiola Ajimobi and other leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were holding an interfaith service within the Governor’s Office when the students arrived at the scene.
Ayanwale said the directive was with immediate effect and urged parents to call their wards to comply with the management’s decision.
The students in their hundreds, had pleaded with the new government to review the high fees imposed on them by the immediate past administration of Adebayo Alao-Akala.
One of the student leaders, who spoke with journalists on the condition of anonymity, deplored the hike in tuition fees by the Alao-Akala administration, saying a fresh Higher National Diploma (HND) student pays over a hundred thousand naira.
“The fresh HND 1 students are made to pay about N84,000 while the old students pay N47,500. The accommodation fee is N17,500 and we hardly have electricity supply and water. There are no facilities in the hostels, yet the management is forcing us to pay.
“This is unacceptable to us. We have paid 60 per cent of the fees and they are compelling us to balance up within a week. We cannot agree with this. Governor Ajimobi had before his inauguration promised to remove 50 per cent of the fees. We have paid even more than half of the fees and so we are calling on the governor to address the situation”, he said.
Source: Guardian
