ACTIVITIES marking the 53rd independence anniversary were, yesterday, disrupted in Ibadan, Oyo State, by protesting members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Zone D (Southwest) who blocked major roads in parts of the state calling on Federal Government and striking university lecturers to resolve their face-off.
They started the protest at about 9:30 am and marched through Agbowo, Mokola round-about, Total Garden, Agodi-Gate and stopped at the Iwo-Road inter-change.
Numbering over 1000, they complained among other things, the underfunding of the education sector and chanted anti-government slogans, accusing the Federal Government of lackadaisical attitude towards education.
To ensure that the protest did not go out of control, security agents kept watch over them.
The angry students through their leader, Monsuru Adeyemo said, “There is urgent need to save Nigeria’s education sector from total collapse from claws of capitalist ruling elites.
“As a result of poor government funding, in spite of stupendous wealth of the country, Nigeria’s public education, from primary to tertiary levels is bedeviled with lack of adequate facilities for proper teaching, learning and research.
“Hostel facilities in the few schools where they still exist are dilapidated and insufficient, that is why over 10 million children are out of school in Nigeria.
”Only just this year, about 1.7 million candidates sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and from the available space in all the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country only less than 29 per cent of the total candidates will be admitted, thus leaving out over 1.2 million candidates.
“We have to actively join the struggle to force the government to implement the agreement with all unions so that tertiary institutions can be reopened. if this agreement is fully implemented, it will mean better funding of education and a great relief to overburdened students”
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