Ekiti students protest suspension of examination

Two security guards sustained head injuries at the weekend when some rampaging part-time students of the University of Ado Ekiti protested the indefinite suspension of their second semester examinations because some students refused to pay the tuition fee. Older part time students of the university pay tuition of N63, 000, while the new students on part time programme pay the sum of N75, 000.

The students went out of control on the university campus immediately the institution's authorities ordered the stoppage of the conduct of the examination that started on Monday, as they hurled stones and pebbles at some of the university security and institution's top officials that were sighted within the vicinity of the ‘war' zone. Several vehicles had their windscreens smashed by the aggrieved students.

The two injured security personnel were later rushed to the university clinic for medical attention.

They were pelted while making efforts to drive the visibly livid students out of the university campus to douse the tension necessitated by the protest.

One of the protesting students who spoke with journalists, lashed out at the university authorities for chasing them out from the examination hall, saying the university could have devised a means where they [students] could pay their fees on installmental basis.

The source accused the university of failure to intimate them in advance and for targeting only a section of the students, noting that part one and two students were harassed, while parts three to five students were left to write their own examination without being molested.

"I wonder why the university authorities have resulted into this type of harsh policy of driving students out of examination hall, when they allow others to write their own examination, without any molestation," one of the students said.


Adequate notice

But the university public relations officer, Ajibade Olubunmi, debunked the claim of the students, saying the university Registrar, Omojola Awosusi, had earlier written a letter to the co-ordinator of part- time programme, stating the position of the university on school fees

"The claims of the students are not true; notice have been given to the students about three months ago," Mr Ajibade said.

He faulted the claim that the university failed to notify the students on the action before execution, saying the part time programmes are being run to assist the working class who may not find it convenient to do JAMB and run full time programmes in universities.