By Ovat Abeng
Students of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, have staged a protest against incessant imposition of fees on them by the school management.
The protest was provoked by a recent imposition of a compulsory N5000 examination fees and the insistence of the school management to deny those who have not paid the alleged fees from writing their exams.
It was gathered that the students carried different placards with inscriptions such as “reduce the cost of texts books”; “allow us to do our medical and data capture”; “say no to corrupt stakeholders” ; “say no to exam fees”; “breakdown our tuition fees” etc.
The students numbering over 1000 from different departments sang solidarity songs and chants as they protested from the school main gate to their administrative building, departments, to the permanent site and terminated at the popular school tower to show their displeasure over the continuous increment and incessant imposition of fees such as examination and ICT fees, forceful sales of handouts to them, among others.
Addressing the students, the Secretary General, National Association Of Nigeria Students, South East Zone, Comrade Cynthia Felix appealed for calm and expressed her resolve to make sure the students are not fleeced in any way.
She stated categorically that examination fees is unlawful and demanded for a fee schedule in order to know the need for the said exam fees.
She kicked against the extortion, demanded the immediate withdrawal of the memo that introduced the fee and that all students should be allowed to sit for their examination.
For the Vice President, National Association of Polytechnic Students, South East, Chukwuebuka Umezula, the school management on 9th of April, 2024, released a memo informing students to pay an examination fees of N5000 on or before 12th April, 2024 before commencement of the examination.
He condemned the short notice fell on a public holidays and wondered the reason for an examination fee after they had paid their tuition fees and why the examination fee will deny them taking their exams.
According to Umezula, they will continue the protest and boycott all examinations until the management changes its decision and said that the students have laboured, struggled and battled to pay tuition fees, medical fees, ICT fees, among others.
He said the National Association of Polytechnic Students has written the school management over the memo but was not attended to.
Some students who spoke to our correspondent, including Kenechukwu Okafor, Merchant Jamesetta, Ifunaya Lucia and Pius Okolo said their parents are struggling to pay their tuition fees and wondered the motive behind the imposition of more fees them and begged the Federal Ministry of education to investigate and intervene.
Responding, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Chijioke Ibeziako appealed to journalists to kindly play down on the report and promised that the issues will be settled internally.
