Ugo Nosiri, Owerri
Students of federal and state universities and polytechnics in Imo State, Friday, poured out into the streets to protest ‘hike in school fees and poor education.’
The protesters comprising students from Imo State University (IMSU); Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO); Alvan Ikoku University of Education (AIUE); Federal Polytechnic Nekede; and Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo; marched through the streets of Owerri to the State Government House, carrying placards demanding a reversal to the the fees previously paid.
They chanted anti-government songs and carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “Government should equip our schools with modern facilities;” and “We are unduly extorted through handouts and textbooks.”
Others read: “Students are dropping every lday due to fee increment,” “Stop the hike in our school fees,” and ‘”We need a conducive learning environment,” amongst others.
Speaking during the protest, the Vice President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ahaneku Valentine Nzubechi, decried the high cost of living, accommodation, and school fees occasioned by the prevailing economic crisis, calling on the government at all levels to mediate for them in their various institutions.
He said: “We have come to let the Imo government know about the level of suffering we have been subjected to by our various schools.
“We are on this peaceful protest to register our grievances on the high cost of living in the state nay, the country. This is a joint gathering of IMSU, FUTO, ALVAN, POLYNEK and IMSUAES.
“We have come to say no to the hike in our school fees. Imo students are paying through their noses to be in school yet we are being heavily extorted through handouts and textbooks by our lecturers. The current economic situation too has worsened it all.”
The students further urged the government to make and effectively implement good education and people-oriented policies to cushion the effects of hunger and poverty in the system.
