EBONYI STATE: University Students Protest Over Increase In Fees?

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The University in the South Eastern Nigerian State claimed there was no increase in fees.

No fewer than 2, 000 students of the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, on Tuesday protested against the increase in their school fees by the school’s management.

The students, mainly second year students, protested against paying N88, 000 as school fees for indigenes and N128, 000 for non-indigenes, the amount they paid at the point of their entry in 2012.

They want the management to reverse the fees to the N40, 000 for indigenes and N60, 000 for non-indigenes paid by old students.

The students from the three campuses of the institution- Presco, CAS and Ishieke- converged on the Ishieke campus around 11 a.m. and marched through the busy Enugu-Abakaliki expressway before heading to the Government House.

The development caused traffic gridlock on the express road as the students marched peacefully, accompanied by some patrol vehicles, to ensure order.

They carried placards which read: `Elechi na wah for you…’, ‘Chai Oga Elechi’, ‘My Papa no fit pay N128, 000’ and chanted solidarity songs.

The situation, however, changed when they approached the Udensi Roundabout few metres to the Government House, as a team of policemen numbering about 100, threw teargas canisters at them.

The move which was to prevent them from reaching the Government House Gate, caused stampede and chaos and resulted in several students sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

The policemen barricaded all routes leading to the Government House, resulting in traffic gridlock on major roads such as Ezza, Water-Works and Ogoja Roads in Abakaliki.

Hillary Eze, the Dean of Students Affairs in the school, claimed that there was no increase in school fees, adding that the school’s management would thoroughly investigate the matter.

Source: NAN