- Varsity is broke, says Governing Council chair
Students of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, have justified their recent violent protest over the hike in their tuition fees.
The protest resulted in several of their colleagues sustaining various degrees of injuries.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that aside from the protests staged by the students in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, their colleagues residing in other parts of the country, including Ibadan, Lagos, Ekiti and Osogbo, were also joined by even students from other universities in solidarity.
Last week, the board of the Governing Council of AAA had announced a 500 per cent increase in tuition fees after the students had stayed at home for about three months.
The Governing Council of the university had increased tuition fees from N30,000 to N180,000. The increment in school fees varied from one department to another. While students in departments of Educational Management and Guidance and Counselling are to pay N120,0000, students in the Accounting, Economics and Law Departments will pay N150, 000, while students in the Faculty of Science are also required to pay N180,000 as tuition fees.
The President of the Student Union Government of the school, Ijanusi Olawale, explained that students of the institution had been forced to stay at home since December 2017 and had been unable to resume academic activities due to the increment in their school fee, which the state government had insisted must be paid.
According to him, “Today makes it 90 days that we have been made to sit at home since the 2016\2017 academic session ended. It is quite pathetic that the government has been quite undisturbed by this disheartening predicament of the students.
“The government has been so unperturbed by the fact that we are wallowing and wasting away at home. We have wasted a whole semester at home doing nothing. The hope of our 500 level law students going to the Law school may be dashed. We are made to go through all this unpalatable rigours all because of the unfortunate decision of the government.
“We have been silent enough; we will not allow the government to toy with our future. We have been pushed to the wall, and now it is germane and imperative that we take our destiny in our own hands.”
Another student, who pleaded anonymity due to fear of persecution, noted that the low tuition fees at being paid at the university had attracted many students, but with the recent hike in fees, the dreams and hopes of over 15,000 students on campus might be dashed.
He argued that due to family and financial constraints, many of the students still could not pay the former lower fees, not to talk of the increased one.
“If practical care is not taken, many students will be sent back to the streets. The idea about the astronomical hike has generated more criticism than commendation and I our utmost concern is that this unilateral draconic decision will negatively affect us and our parents. We all know that things are tight. Federal allocations keep fluctuating and IGR dwindles daily, as responsibilities of government keeps increasing. But education in the state should remain affordable. The truth is that if this school fee hike is not reversed, the dust it will raise will take generations to settle,” he said.
AAUA authorities react
The Chairman, Governing Council of the institution, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, in his reaction to the crisis told our correspondent that the school had been in a serious financial mess, adding that the increment in fees was the only way to save the university.
Abayomi said, “Leadership entails taking hard decisions under the judgement of conscience. A million abuses from children, who only react instead of reasoning, means nothing to me. But if I can get one sensible suggestion, idea, product of reflection or introspection on how to make up for over 1billion that AAUA needs even after the increase, even if it is from my enemy, I will jump at it.
“The issue is simple, there is no money to run AAUA for those who are in it or sustain it for those who are coming in. How can I pay any attention to all these free abuses from simple-minded children, when they do not create the money that is needed? A soldier that is at war can scarcely have time for trivialities.
“This is the hard challenge facing AAUA. Staff Salary is approximately N2.5b per annum. Maintenance of students and campus life, approximately, is N3.1bn per annum, to add up to approximately N5.6bn. Now income from government is N1.8bn. Income from students is approximately N5.5m per annum. Income from other sources is approximately N400m. Now add up to approximately N2.75bn, subtract income from expenditure to know how serious is the financial challenge AAUA faces. Should we allow the school to go under sacrifice for her survival? The school is trying and we need people to work with us so as to build a great school. “
