The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has passed vote of no confidence on the Rector of DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori Ogun State, Prof Olufemi Fatade, due to his alleged plans to increase tuition fee and introduce other charges in the state-owned institution.
The students body called on Gov Dapo Abiodun to probe the Rector and send him on compulsory leave; saying “students and majority staffers aren’t confident of having him continued as the Rector of that school.”
DAILY POST reported NANS last week as raising the alarm that the Management of DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori, Ogun State, was making secret moves to allegedly increase tuition fees and to extort students through the introduction of other ‘illegal’ charges.
But, the management of DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic told our correspondent that adding N5,000 to the tuition fees became necessary if the institution was to maintain its existence.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Registrar, Mr Bayo Ogundimu, informed that the polytechnic had, after considering a lot of factors sent a letter to government, requesting for the upward review of tuition fees. He, however, said the request had not been granted.
Ogundimu revealed that the polytechnic had been self-sustaining in a way, since its creation in 2006; saying it gets N5m monthly subvention from government and it has to pay salaries of staff.
According to him, lecturers of the institution are being owed four months salaries. This, he said, was as a result of lack of funds as “the wage bill alone is about N27m monthly.”
However, a statement signed by NANS Spokesperson, Azeez Adeyemi and made available to DAILY POST on Wednesday reads:
“Our attention has been called to abnormalities and extortion at DS Adegebro ICT Polytechnic, Itori in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, as we call on the state government under, Prince Dapo Abiodun to give an holistic view into issues in the institution especially as it concerns multiple payment of some fees, hence, extorting our students.
“It is also important that the government investigate how money is being spent in the institution.
“From our findings as students leaders, we discovered that, the management of the institution has perpetrated different degrees of financial crimes at the expense of the students/children of the poor schooling in that institution.
“Our further findings also showed that both staff and students of that institution who constitutes the largest population of the polytechnic are not happy with the many multiple payment being forced on the students among other few maltreatments meted on the members of staff who could not speak in the interest of their job security.
“However, the management/ decision makers of the ICT polytechnic are practically constituted by the two top officers of the institution and by extension one other officer, determining the today and future of numerous staff and students of the school.
“All the above discoveries were further confirmed to us by staff of the institution during our random interviews with them during our visit to the institution earlier today, Monday.
“Although, our meeting as students leaders was only partially successful because we were only able to register our displeasure and the yearnings of the students even when the rector Refused vehemently and wasn’t ready to listen to all our requests, even when we were able to point at abnormalities to the Rector, Prof. Alfred Fatade.
“After numerous complaint, on the leadership style of the rector among other various issues,We however gave the following demands:
“That the compulsory N15,000 penalty for late file submission should be scrapped immediately;
“That status quo should remain on the amount of the tuition, cancelling the proposed N5000 increment;
“Cancellation of the needless N12,000 sundry fee;
“Cancellation of the N15, 000 developmental fee;
“We say no to increment in clearance/ convocation fee;
“The Students Union President should henceforth be carried along in the decision making processes as it affects the students
“However, during our meeting with the Rector, he gave series of incoherent explanations which shows that there are foul plays in the finances of the institution that needs to be unraveled by the Ministry of Education, else, our students will continue to be at the receiving end and that will paint the government in bad light.
“While giving his reasons for the alleged extortions, the Rector told the students leaders that the monthly wage bill of the school stands at N27 million while the government gives the institution a token of N5 million monthly.
“To this end, we appeal that the government should give an urgent and well deserved attention to the institution for the sake of our students as we have no confident in the leadership of the rector of the that institution.”
