FUTA students protest fee hike as varsity postpones resumption
Students of the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, on Monday, protested the proposed increase in school fees in the institution.
The students described the increment as “inconsiderate and unnecessary” in a letter dated January 12, which was sighted by PUNCH Metro on Monday.
Our correspondent learnt that the backlash made the school management, in a statement, to postpone the date of resumption and suspend the payment of school fees, which was supposed to begin on Monday.
The statement partly read, “The management of the Federal University of Technology Akure has ordered the indefinite postponement of the resumption of students for the 2023–2024 academic session. It has also directed that all students currently on campus and in hostels within the university vacate them within 24 hours.
“The management also directed that registration of returning students via the university portal and payment of fees by all returning students for the new academic session via the portal scheduled to begin on Monday, January 15, 2024 be put on hold.“
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a FUTA student, identified simply as Femi, said the hike in fees would compound students’ woes if implemented as proposed.
He said, “The protest is concerning the increment in school fees. They just increased school fees anyway, and the students are protesting at the NorthGate, which is one of the gates in our school. They’ve also postponed our resumption date, and everyone should leave for those that are around.
“This thing is going to affect me a lot because I don’t have money. This is a federal university, and for crying out loud, students are working to fend for themselves. How would they get such an amount?”
While reacting to the proposed hike in a letter written to the management, the president of the students’ union, Olayemi Oluwasoromidayo, said they had “agreed that the outrageous increments proposed by the school management are inconsiderate and unnecessary considering the fact that the school fees were increased in the last session, which was just eight months ago.”
Meanwhile, in a video sighted by our correspondent on Monday, hundreds of students were seen chanting and holding placards bearing different inscriptions while others were dancing to music being played outside the school gate.
