The Post Graduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University ( OAU ), Ile-Ife on Osun State have accused the university management and the PG College of unabated victimisation.
Addressing a press conference at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) in Osogbo, Osun State capital, the leader of the students, Andrew Segun Oguma, said the studentship of four members of the students’ committee that spearheaded the agitation against an exploitative regime were terminated on the flimsy excuse of late payment of their last semester tuition fees.
According to them, while other students who are yet to pay their school fees were given till December to make payment, members of the committee were strangely dismissed.
The students lamented that despite several meetings and apology letters to the management and the PG College, the Provost of the College, Prof. Gbenga Alebiowu, insisted that “the apologies were not in conformity with his dictates.”
They said: “The postgraduate students on two different occasions (aside other countless individual attempts) met with the Provost of the College in interactive sessions held within the hall of residence to extensively discuss our challenges. “After series of communications with the provost, which all proved abortive, an official letter of our demands dated 12th September 2017 was sent to the Vice Chancellor and this was also ignored.
“On 26th September 2017, there was a meeting of postgraduate students’ committee and the provost, which ended in a stalemate, yet, requested that the matter be rerouted and addressed to his office rather than through the Vice Chancellor.
“On 27th September 2017, postgraduate students collectively submitted the requested letter to the provost with a week timeline for response. During the one week timeline, responses we got were decision extract that addressed nothing in our request but rather putting students in more frustrating conditions.
“Directives were tailored towards putting undue pressure on students by compelling them to pay all outstanding fees else termination of studentship; termination of four committee members studentship among which are students who have done final oral examination and another who the Senate had sat on his result. All this response had emerged just because we appealed that students should no longer be charged fees after final oral examination.
“Putting all of these efforts together, it is glaring that we as postgraduate students have exhausted all meaningful internal mechanisms which have unfortunately yielded no positive result. However, it has become a truth that the Provost is not ready to critically consider our demands nor yield to appeals coming from different quarters but hell bent on ensuring that students are continually exploited and made to unsparingly suffer.”
When contacted, the Post Graduate Povost refused to make a comment. He advised our correspondent to speak with the Public Relations Officer of the university.
Also, the Vice-chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, in his response to the allegation through a text message said: “Sorry, I am presently outside the country attending a summit on higher education. The termination was because the students did not pay their fees and were also insultive. However, the issue is now being resolved as the students have written a letter of apology. The PG College board will meet next week.”
