By ANZAA MSONTER, BSU

Following a protest embarked upon by students of Benue State University College of Health Sciences over the non-accreditation of the University Teaching Hospital,  the Senate  swiftly took action, putting the college under lock and key for two weeks. But as the two weeks compulsory break given the students elapsed on Thursday, October 25, 2012, without any sign of resumption, the students have once again lamented their woes.

A visit to the school penultimate  Monday, showed large number of the students ready to move into their hostels. They were, however, not allowed, as the management asked them to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour as a precondition.

Led by their President, Kawen Pededo, the students rejected the management’s condition, but later were engaged in series of dialogue with the management over the matter. Insisting that they would not sign the undertaking irrespective of its content, they instead drafted an agreement requiring the university authorities and the state government to undertake to send them out to other medical schools if the forth-coming accreditation fails.

The insistence by management that the students would not be allowed back without the undertaking made the students decide they would continue with the indefinite break, thereby boycotting lectures, pending when they are called back.

Earlier in June, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) visited the college and made recommendations to be fixed in six months. The approaching deadline was what made the students to embark on another phase of protests. Unconfirmed reports say the MDCN is scheduled to revisit the college this November.

The College of Health Sciences has had a rough ride since its inception in 2003. It only secured preclinical accreditation in 2008 and has been under constant risk of losing the accreditation, since there has not been any real progress since then.

Its students have been going on protests many times to press home their grievances. Some of them have spent over eight years without graduating. Earlier this year, they were the state government’s guests two times at the Government House, where they received various promises regarding the completion and accreditation of the Teaching Hospital.

However, despite its commissioning in March by President Goodluck Jonathan, the hospital is largely still undergoing installment of equipment.

Speaking, former BESUMSA President, Asue Terfa accused the authorities of using media propaganda to misinform the public about why the students were protesting and wondered whether it was not easier to yield to their demands than engage in unending muscle-flexing.

As at the time of filing this report, the hostels remained under lock and key, with the only students on campus being law students who have been using the college auditorium for their lectures.