Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state on Tuesday barricaded the main gate of the campus with placards, chanting solidarity songs and restricting vehicular movement from in and out of the school in protest against a slight reduction of school fees by the management of the institution.
It would be recalled that the University’s management in September announced a three hundred percent increment in school fees before reducing the increment by fifteen percent to pacify the aggrieved students.
According to the institution’s student union leader, Akinremi Ojo, the protest was to demand a fifty percent reduction of the increased fees stating the protests will continue daily until their demands are met.
He said: “Weeks before we have threatened that we would shut down activities in the school if the management refused to yield to our demands. We have declared that this protest will continue every day until our demands are met.”
Meanwhile, the public relations officer of the school, Abiodun Olarenwaju, commended the peaceful protest of the students and urged them to prevent hoodlums from hijacking the demonstration before stating that their grievances should be channeled to the appropriate authorities like the Federal Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance.
He said: “I expected them to channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities like the federal ministry of education, finance even the Chief of staff to the president.
“We decided to reduce the initial chargeable fees when the leadership of their union persistently demanded re-negotiation, we considered and we held meetings with them and we told them the 50 percent you are asking for will not be realistic in the long run.”
“We told them that we should meet but they have youthful exuberance and of course, we are allowing them to perform adult exuberance. We’ve been here since morning we are here together, they are our children and we are their local parents and nothing spoils.”
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