The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) has condemned the brutal attacks on the protesting University of Abuja students on Monday. The attack was ordered by the management of the university because the students protest exposed the irregularities in the administration of the university.

The group in a statement by its Abuja Branch Secretary, Mr. Dimeji Macaulay, described the decision as “unprovoked, unwarranted and undemocratic” and expressed strong support for the protesting students kicking against alleged closure of the portal meant for the payment of school fees and others, and the reopening and extension of the school fees portal to the end of the session. The students also demanded for the reversal of school fees for next session.

“This, to us, is an irresponsible measure always taken by University managements across the country to cover up the real issues behind students protests and also to punish students by unnecessarily disrupting the academic calendar.”

The group condemned the poor living condition of students of UniAbuja, Nigeria’s University at the Federal Capital Territory, saying that the ignoble situation clearly underlines what is obtainable in many other tertiary institutions in the country where students are made to live and study under appalling conditions.

It said: “We demand that none of those who participated in the protest should be victimized, and that the management and federal government must fund public tertiary institutions adequately starting from the immediate allocation of the UNESCO standard of 26% of the annual budget to public education and up to providing free education at all levels, as public education is the only alternative available for working class and poor middle class youths.

“Students across Nigeria are faced with the challenges of ill-equipped libraries and laboratories, congested classrooms, high student-teacher ratio among others. Commending the courage and audacity of the students in embarking on their action, said the struggle must be linked with a national campaign for the provision of adequate infrastructural facilities on all campuses in the country. It also pointed out that adequate funding of the system without democratic running of the university exposes the funds to misappropriation by university administrators.

“This is why we have also been calling for the setting up of a budget monitoring committee in all campuses with the involvement of elected representatives of education workers and students to hold education administrators accountable.

“To us in MSA we recall that ASUU strike lasted for about a year for fighting for better funding of the universities and earned allowance.

“Federal Government plan is to stop funding of universities why government officials often say they lack funds for public projects or that the government can no longer subsidise the public interest, while they budget lavishly for their personal comfort or heavily subsidise the massive corruption from which they and their collaborators benefit.

“We once again support all the demands of students and call for end to culture of victimisation of student activists.”

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