Anambra: Oko Poly students protest ‘management’s imposition of N5,000 exam fee’

Students of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, have staged a protest against the incessant imposition of fees by the school management.

The protest was provoked by a recent imposition of a compulsory N5,000 examination fee and the insistence of the school management to deny those who have not paid the alleged fee from writing their exams. 

Tribune Online gathered that the students carried different placards with inscriptions such as “reduce the cost of texts books”; “allow us to do our medical and data capture”; “say no to corrupt stakeholders”; “say no to exam fees”; “breakdown our tuition fees” etc. 

The students numbering over 1000 from different departments sang solidarity songs and chants as they protested from the school main gate to their administrative building, departments, to the permanent site and terminated it at the popular school tower to show their displeasure over the continuous increment and incessant imposition of fees such as examination and ICT fees, forceful sales of handouts, among others.

ALSO READ: Convocation: LAUTECH alumni organises capacity building workshop for graduates, undergraduates

Addressing the students, the Secretary-General of the National Association Of Nigeria Students, South East Zone, Comrade Cynthia Felix, appealed for calm and expressed her resolve to make sure the students are not fleeced in any way.

She stated categorically that the examination fee is unlawful and demanded a fee schedule to know the need for the said exam fees.

The NANS Secretary-General, South-east,  kicked against the extortion, and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the memo that introduced the fee and that all students should be allowed to sit for their examination.

According to the Vice President, National Association of Polytechnic Students, South East, Chukwuebuka Umezula, the school management on 9th of April, 2024, released a memo informing students to pay an examination fee of N5000 on or before 12th April, 2024 before the commencement of the examination. 

He condemned the short notice that fell on a public holiday and wondered the reason for an examination fee after they had paid their tuition fees and why the examination fee would deny them from taking their exams. 

According to Umezula, they will continue the protest and boycott all examinations until the management changes its decision and said that the students have laboured, struggled and battled to pay tuition fees, medical fees, and ICT fees, among others. 

He said the National Association of Polytechnic Students had written the school management over the memo but was not attended to. 

Some students who spoke to our correspondent, including Kenechukwu Okafor, Merchant Jamesetta, Ifunaya Lucia and Pius Okolo said their parents are struggling to pay their tuition fees and wondered about the motive behind the imposition of more fees. They begged the Federal Ministry of Education to investigate and intervene.

Responding, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr Chijioke Ibeziako, appealed to journalists to play down the report and promised that the issues would be settled internally.