UNIBEN Students Protest Hike in Charges for Late Payment of School Fees

By Adibe Emenyonu

Students of the University of Benin, Edo State, yesterday blocked the ever busy Benin-Lagos expressway in Ugbowo in protest against the increase in charges for late payment of school fees by the university management.

For many hours, vehicular and human movements at Ugbowo and Ekenwan road campuses of the university were paralysed such that commuters had to look for alternative routes to navigate their ways before getting to their destinations.

The protesting students, who carried placards bearing inscriptions such as: ‘Federal University Don Turn BOWEN;’ ‘UNIBEN no be BOWEN;’ ‘Urgent 20k No Be Our Budget;’ Oppression Comes In Different Forms;’ ‘We Didn’t Sign For This Injustice;’ among others, played solidarity songs with public address sound system.

One of the students said they were protesting an additional N20,000 to their school fee within two weeks, when the portal was opened, adding that same portal had been frequently down thereby denying those who wanted to pay access to do so.

According to her, when the portal was opened, they gave till September 3 to pay the fees with the warning that any payment after the date would attract additional N10,000.

The student added that immediately after the date, additional N10,000 was added without any prior notice to that effect, making the increment N20,000.

According to her, “They (university authorities) added N20,000 to our fees within two weeks. The school Public Relations Officer (PRO) is saying that anyone that fails to pay before next Saturday would be denied admission-the admission of such student would be withdrawn.”

Berating the PRO for her comments on payment of school fees, the students remarked that: “The PRO is wrong to say that it is a privilege for us to be given admission to study at UNIBEN. It is not a privilege, it is our rights to study in any school in Nigeria as Nigerians.”

Another student, who did not also want his name in print, said: “The university had been turned to a personal business since the present vice-chancellor assumed office.

“UNIBEN is no more University of Benin, it is now University of Salami. Lilian Salami is our VC. She runs the school like her personal business,” the student submitted,” adding that it is now clear that the malfunction of the university website when students were about paying their school fees was a deliberate attempt to short-change the students.

Efforts to reach the university PRO, Mrs. Benedicta Ehanire, were not successful as her phone could not be reached.

Meanwhile, the Students Union Government (SUG), President, Egwu Benjamin Lotanna, suggested that the institution management should call the Students Union Executive Council for a roundtable, adding that he believes so much in diplomacy and that the students also believe in dialogue.