Students at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun state, demonstrated against an increase in their tuition.
The students disrupted campus activities as part of their ongoing demand for a 50% decrease in the recent rise in fees that students must pay to the university.
Abbas Akinremi, the president of the Great Ife Students’ Union, led the students in closing the school’s entry gates to keep out staff members.
The institution’s administration increased the cost for returning and new students by more than 100% but later decreased it in response to student protests by 15%.
But not content with the 15% reduction, the students blocked the institution’s gate early on Tuesday, preventing staff members from entering.
The kids who were protesting also held up signs that read, among other things, “Education is bleeding, no need to celebrate independence,” “Let the Poor Breath, Fees Must Fall,” and “My parents are poor, can’t afford exorbitant fees.”
Speaking to the group, Akinremi said that if the administration failed to cut the new fees by 50% compared to the 15% reduction, students will continue to interrupt classes.
According to the institution’s public relations officer, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, the school has not ruled out negotiations with the student leadership but has instead asked them to embrace constructive conversation in place of disrupting on-campus activities.
This protest is coming after the school fees that the university’s students must pay have been reassessed by the administration of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
According to a statement earlier issued by the university’s public relations officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, the administration decreased the tuition following a meeting with the students.
The leaders of the Students Union, according to Olanrewaju, were firm in their demand for a 50% fee reduction.
He continued by saying that the administration of the university had made it quite apparent that the increased fees were the absolute least that was necessary for the institution to function effectively.
