By IGONIKO ODUMA, Yenagoa

Students of the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) have staged a peaceful protest against plans by the institution’s management to introduce school uniforms.

It was gathered that the students marched round the campus at Amassoma on Monday chanting solidarity and demanding the cancellation of the decision.

The NDU management was said to have come up with the plans to curb what it termed indecent dressing, especially among female students on campus.

The placard-carrying undergraduates, who continued the protest on Tuesday, also condemned the closure of fees portal for old students and the continued ban on Students’ Union Government (SUG), which they said was a deliberate attempt to suppress students’ unionism.

Some of the students, who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimization by the NDU management, are calling on the state governor, Douye Diri to sack the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, who is angling for a second tenure.

The students described Edoumiekumo’s policies as ridiculous, adding that the introduction of school uniforms was a sign of high-handedness and open tyranny.

They alleged that Engineering students would pay as much as N30,000 each for their uniforms while students of other faculties would pay N20,000 each.

It would be recalled that in June, Edoumiekumo had come under attack over discrimination against a physically-challenged man who was a deputy bursar of the school, which sparked a protest.

They physically-challenged man was reportedly denied the opportunity of appearing for an interview for the position of bursar and had remained suspended, following the protest although Governor Diri had addressed the management on the development.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO), NDU, Idoni Ingezi explained that “the closure of the fees portal is a policy of the school”, but maintained that it was still open for this session.

Ingezi denied the institution had fixed fees for uniforms, saying that discussions were still ongoing at departmental levels. (Daily Independent)

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