Students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), on Friday, protested an alleged increase in school fees by the management of the university.
Staff and visitors to the university were held hostage for some hours after the students locked the main entrance gate and other gates to the institution.
Some of the placards carried by the protesting students read that the old fees is N47,00 while the new fee is N95,000.
Other placards have inscriptions such as “100 per cent increment is outrageous and untimely”, “UNN management return to negotiation table with SUG executives”, “It is the UNN and the FG that are supposed to compensate students for keeping us at home for 8 months because of ASUU strike”, and “This increment is a deliberate attempt to deny many students from poor families access to education among others.”
A student, who craved anonymity, accused the university management of being insensitive to the plight of the students, who just returned to school after eight months strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
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He stated that the UNN management had directed new students to start paying the new tuition fees, saying the new tuition has been uploaded in student’s profiles.
The student said: It’s happening at a time we are expecting compensation from the Federal Government and even the school authorities for keeping us at home for eight months as a result of the ASUU strike.”
The President of the UNN Students Union Government (SUG), Michael Abuchi, who addressed the students before the protest, said the protest was to reject the recent 100 per cent increase in school fees by management.
“We reject the recent 100 per cent increase in school fees by the school management.
“This protest is to let management know our feelings and for them to cancel the increment immediately. They should know that many students are from poor families,“ he said.
Abuchi said it was unfortunate that while SUG was still negotiating with the school management on the proposed increment, the management went ahead to effect the 100 per cent increase.
The SUG President, however, told the students that the protest should be peaceful and warned against any form of vandalism or destruction of school property.
“Please as we move this protest to major roads in the campus and to the main gate of the university, be peaceful and avoid any form of destruction.
“We have locked all the gates leading to UNN during this protest, so that management will know we are serious and not happy with the school over the increment,” Abuchi said.
The management of the university has yet to react to the latest development as of press time.
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