By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Students of Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Aguata, Anambra State, have protested against a compulsory N5000 examination fees incessant imposition of fees on them by the school management.

They lamented that the school management have also denied students who have not paid the alleged fees from writing their exams.

The students who took to the road around the institution to express their dismay carried different placards with inscriptions, "Say no to exam fees”; “Reduce the cost of texts books”; “Allow us to do our medical and data capture”; “Say no to corrupt stakeholders”, "Beakdown our tuition fees..

The students numbering over 1000 from different departments sang solidarity songs and chants as they protested from the school main gate to their administrative building, departments, to the permanent site and terminated at the popular school tower to show their displeasure over the continuous increment and incessant imposition of fees on other areas like ICT, forceful sales of handouts to them, among others.

Addressing the students, the Secretary General, National Association Of Nigeria Students, South East Zone, Comrade Cynthia Felix appealed for calm and expressed her resolve to make sure the students are not fleeced in any way.

She kicked against the extortion, demanded the immediate withdrawal of the memo that introduced the fee and that all students should be allowed to sit for their examination.

She stated categorically that examination fee is unlawful and demanded for a fee schedule in order to know the need for the said exam fees.

The Vice President, National Association of Polytechnic Students, South East, Chukwuebuka Umezula, the school management on 9th of April, 2024, released a memo informing students to pay an examination fee of N5000 on or before 12th April, 2024 before commencement of the examination.

According to Umezula, they will continue the protest and boycott all examinations until the management changes its decision and said that the students have laboured, struggled and battled to pay tuition fees, medical fees, ICT fees, among others.

Responding, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Chijioke Ibeziako appealed to journalists to kindly play down on the report and promised that the issues will be settled internally.

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