FUTA Postpones Resumption Indefinitely after Students' Protest against Fee Hike
- The management of the Federal University of Technology, Akure has postponed students' resumption date following their aggressive protest against fee hike
- The university had earlier announced the increment of the school fee by 100%
- The students shut down the school's main entrance, allowing no vehicles to pass in a demonstration of vexation
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The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has announced the indefinite postponement of the resumption date for the 2023/2024 academic session.
The decision was made after the students of the institution staged a protest to reject the over 100 per cent increase in their tuition by the school management.
Source: Twitter
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The Premium Times reported that the protest, which started in the early hours of Monday, saw the undergraduates gather at the university’s main gate, blocking the entrance and exit points of the school campus.
They chanted solidarity songs and waved their placards bearing different inscriptions, demanding that the management should revert to the previous fee structure.
FUTA suspends resumption indefinitely after fee hike protests by students
Per the Premium Times report, the university's director of corporate communications, Adegbenro Adebanjo, on Monday, January 15, said the school’s management had instructed all students currently on campus and within the university hostels to vacate them within 24 hours.
The statement read in part:
“The management also directed that registration and payment of fees by all returning students via the university portal, for the new academic session scheduled to begin on Monday, 15 January, be put on hold.”
FUTA Students' Union reject fee hike
The President of the FUTA Student Union Government, Olayemi Oluwasoromidayo, said that the students were not happy with the new fees and charges, which he described as exorbitant and unjustifiable. He said that the student body had met with the management several times, but it refused to listen to their grievances.
He said:
“We are not here to cause trouble, but to express our dissatisfaction with the new fees and charges. The last increment was not even up to a year ago, and now they want to increase it again. This is unfair and unacceptable. How do they expect us to cope with this economic situation?”
He added that the management increased the school fees to over N200,000 for freshers while old students, who were paying N35,000, would now pay N130,000. He said that the students would not resume the new session until their demands were met, The Daily Trust reported.
FUTA management explains rationale behind fee hike
In a statement issued by the Director of Corporate Communication, Adegbenro Adebanjo, the management of FUTA explained the rationale behind the new fees and charges. He said that they were mainly for students-related services, which were sourced from the economy and affected by the costs of goods and services.
He said:
“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 services are necessary. The costs of providing the services have shot up and the new charges are in response to this.”
He also listed other costs that were adjusted as a result of economic reality, such as medical examination, biometric ID cards, health insurance, and final yearbook. He stressed that tuition remained free for all students and that the management had a mechanism to look into and build consensus on matters affecting students, including fees and charges.
He said, “That mechanism is working on this matter and consensus will be achieved.”
He also announced that the management had directed that all students currently on campus and in hostels within the university should vacate them within 24 hours. He said that the registration and payment of fees by all returning students via the university portal, for the new academic session scheduled to begin on Monday, 15 January, had been put on hold.
He denied that the university had opened the portal for registration for returning students for the new session, as being circulated in the public domain
Leaked FUTA results sheet shows mass failure
Legit.ng has earlier reported a situation of mass failure in FUTA in a certain department.
The leaked answer booklets of 200-level students of the institution showed horrible grades generating bad remarks on the lecturer whom many netizens blame for lacking in his duties.
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Source: Legit.ng
