Again, UniLag students protest over increment of tuition fees

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Another protest has erupted as students of the University of Lagos, UniLag express their grievances over increased tuition fees by the management of the institution.

Last week, the students reportedly staged a massive protest against the increment, an action which the university management did not handle with ease as police men reportedly fired teargas at the protesting students.

According to media reports, the policemen, drawn from many formations in Lagos including the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), took over the gate of the university, preventing the protesting students and others from entering the campus while disrupting the planned protest.

While many condemned the act but, no measures haven been taken from any quarters in response to the students plea just yet.

However, the agrieved students have again, taken to the streets to lay their complaints louder this time as their colleagues from other universities also joined them in solidarity.

The students on the platform of Students Solidarity Group Against Students Hike in collaboration with the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Tuesday, hit the streets in the early morning to protest the increment in tuition fees by the management of the institution.

The protesters were seen chanting songs of solidarity as they expressed their desire to continue to fight and press the school authorities to reduce the fees.

Meanwhile, as a sign that they had learned a lesson from the turn out of events at the last experience, the students while staging a second peaceful protest on the streets, were accompanied by security operatives of the Nigerian Police Force as well as men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.

The security operatives barricaded the school gate as heavy security checks were conducted to prevent intruders from entering the school premises.

Lamenting the hike in tuition fees, some of the protesting students who spoke to newsmen, said that they now lack trust in the school authority.

The said the institution’s ignorance over the plight of students was uncalled for a signalled a breach of trust between both parties.

They said that the students will continue to protest until the hike in school fees is overturned alleging that the school authorities lacked accountability and transparency with the way they have treated the issue in recent weeks.

The students were especially not impressed by the recent official press statements from the institution amidst the disagreements.

The protesting students also called on the Federal Government to play an active role by investing the proceeds from the fuel subsidy removal on education rather than allow any increment in school fees as that would rather worsen the economic situation of the students.

Recall that the university recently asked students to pay over N190,000 as against the previous regime of a little over N19,000 as fees.

In July, the school authorities announced the hike in tuition fees was announced in July for new and returning undergraduate students as they cited “prevailing economic realities” as the reason for the increment.