Students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, have cried out over the lackadaisical attitude of the management of the institution towards the lingering internal crisis rocking the school since last year.
Our correspondent gathered that the university was closed down three months ago after the 2017 academic session and has yet to be reopened, owing to a hike in school fees, which the students have been kicking against.
“Our school management has not been fair to us at all. Despite the fact that we pay so much school fees, the management still wants to raise it higher and yet we have nothing to show for it,” a student, who pleaded anonymity, said.
The student said the school was scheduled to resume last January for the new academic session, but the management of the institution had refused to provide adequate facilities for students, describing the living condition in the school as worrisome.
“We are tired of staying at home since last year. Moreover, we don’t have enough infrastructure to even cater for students’ needs. Our hostels are not enough and also not conducive to stay in. Our school is in Akungba-Akoko while the boys’ hostel is at Ikare Akoko, which is very far from the school. All we see are abandoned projects scattered on campus,” he said.
A fresh student, who gave her name simply as Yemi, expressed fears about what might become of their admission as new intakes of other universities in the country had been receiving lectures since January, while she and her colleagues had been at home due to the closure of the institution.
“With the way things are going, I am afraid that my admission may be nullified if this crisis lingers longer than this because they have just concluded JAMB examination, which means there are prospective fresh intakes on the way. What it means is that if we do not commence academic exercise soon, 2018/2019 JAMB admission will be merged with 2017/2018 admission; that means combined admission for just limited space,” she said.
The General Secretary of the AAUA Student Union Government, Akinola Seun Gabriel, in his reaction, said it was obvious that the state government did not care about the future of over 18,000 students of the university.
He added that the union had been in talks with the school authorities which had promised to review the school fees.
Gabriel said, “AAUITES have stayed at home since last year; no specific date has been announced. The annoying part is that if you ask any lecturer, their response will be, “Am I the management?, I don’t know.” Other schools are about to start their first semester examination, are we going to keep quiet and continue like this?
“Education is our right, it is not what we should beg for before we get it. It is our right and we can only demand for it, but let us wait and see the outcome, because the management has said that the school fees will be reviewed when the Governing Council is inaugurated
soon.”
The Head, Information and Protocol Unit of the university, Mr. Sola Imoru, said that the students’ claim of school fee increment was false and misleading as the management of the institution had not taken any decision on the review of the fees payable by
students.
Imoru said, “The University has its own official channels of giving out information to its stakeholders and the general public, including the university website. Any new information would be properly signed by a designated officer of the institution. Any news or information on increment in school fees, which fails to satisfy these requirements, does not and could not have emanated from the university.”
‘We implore parents and students to disregard any misleading information as it was evidently concocted by mischief makers to discredit the university and cause disaffection between it and
stakeholders.”
