300% fee hike: FUTA students protest, barricade Akure-Ilesa highway
•Say N35,000 to N131,000 unacceptable.
•School mgt gives 24 hours ultimatum to vacate campus
•Insists tuition is free

By Dayo Johnson, AKURE

STUDENTS of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Ondo State, yesterday, staged a protest against the 300 per cent increment of fees by the school authorities.

The angry students, who shut the school gates as early as 6.30 am, barricaded the busy Akure-Ilesa highway and called for the immediate reversal of the hike by the university management.

Displaying placards with various inscriptions and chanting solidarity songs, the students insisted that “the management must return to the status quo otherwise the protest will continue until the reversal by the authorities.”

Speaking during the protest, the President of the FUTA Student Union, FUTASU, Olayemi Oluwasoromidayo, said: “It was unwise for the institution to make the move given the current economic challenges in the country.

“The students’ body had met with the management countless times, but it refused to yield to their demands, hence their decision to stage a protest.

“The management had increased the school fees to over N200,000 for fresh students, while old students, who were paying N35,000, would now pay N130,000.”

Mgt postpones resumption date

In a swift reaction, the university management has ordered the indefinite postponement of the resumption of students for the 2023–2024 academic session.

In a statement by the institution’s Director of Corporate Communication, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo directed all students on campus and in hostels to vacate within 24 hours.

Adebanjo said: “Tuition for students is free but certain consumables and payments for municipal services were increased.

“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, should be put on hold.
“It is important to state that the university did not open the portal for registration for returning students for the new session, contrary to what was being bandied in the public domain.

“The proposed new fees, are mainly for student-related services that are sourced from the economy. The costs of such goods and services provided by the university for the students will certainly be impacted by the costs of goods and services in the economy.

“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 other services are necessary, and the costs of providing the services have shot up, and the new charges are in response to this.”