The students of Ibadan Polytechnic on Monday staged a peaceful protest within the campus and on the major roads that lead to the State Government Secretariat in Agodi, over postponement of examination and suspension of students union.
Penpushing reports that the protest, which led to pandemonium was led by the institution’s students’ union, in response to the increment in “hostel refusal fee,” among other numerous issues listed in a memo issued by the union.
The Registrar of the institution, Modupe Fawale was said to have announced suspension of the students’ union, ordered by the management in a statement, while the authorities immediately announced the postponement of the first-semester examination which was earlier scheduled to commence on Monday.
Penpushing further reports that the management described the protest as ill-advised, politically motivated and unwarranted, and hours after the announcement of the suspension of the students’ union, the management reversed the order, saying the students had shown remorse.
The Public Relations Officer, of the institution Adewole Soladoye, said since the examination timetable must have been disrupted by the protest, rescheduling the examination would require painstaking efforts, and at at Monday afternoon the authorities could not take any decision on the postponed examination.
Penpushing also reports that in view of the confused situation, the students converged in their hundreds on the entrance gates of the polytechnic, blocking the Sango-Poly junction, and thereafter left for the government secretariat at Agodi, causing traffic gridlock for commuters on the roads.
The source in the polytechnic said the management had announced the “imposition” of a mandatory “N15, 000 hostel refusal fee” on every full-time National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) students who may be unwilling to live in the school hostels.
Penpushing reports that a Higher National Diploma (HND),students in his 200-level who pleaded anonymity for fear of being sanctioned, confirmed that as of 2017, the “refusal fee” was N1,000 before it was increased to N5,000 in 2021.
The undergraduate argued that, now that the management has increased the fee to N15, 000, that was responsible for the protest, while a check on the official website of the polytechnic by a student as of 12:50 p.m. shows that the fee had again been reverted to N5, 000.
Penpushing further reports that, the institution image maker explained that the hostel refusal fee was to discourage students from staying outside the campus during their first year as students, stressing that it is mandatory for ND 1 and HND 1 students to live in the hostels and pay for accommodation.
The Public Relations Officer added that the “hostel refusal fee” is to discourage them from jettisoning the offer, and that the fee is used to maintain the hostels, explaining that certain exceptions are entertained such as students with special health conditions, among others.
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