NILE UNI STUDENTS PROTEST POOR SERVICES DESPITE N2M TUITION

Students of Nigeria Turkish Nile University, Abuja, bar entry to school building Thursday morning to protest poor services and neglect by NTNU management, despite tuitions of up to N2m per student. Pic by Judd-Leonard Okafor

Hundreds of students at the Nigeria Turkish Nile University (NTNU) blocked entrance to the school’s administrative building this morning to protest poor treatment by the school authorities and its negligence to address shortcomings.
“This is a private university. We pay N2.4 million yearly, and the services they are rendering to us is absolutely poor,” said Hussaini Abubakar, president of students union government at NTNU.
Among issues students have raised is the school’s restriction of vehicles to the hostels. Students claim they agreed to NTNU
conditions—including not parking in front of hostels—before NTNU authorities reneged on the agreement.
Students pay N600, 000 extra for hostel stay, in addition to a basic N1.5 million in tuition, but they say the school compels them to pay an extra deposit of N10, 000 for lunch per month.
This comes amidst complaints that the “quantity and quality of food is not satisfactory,” the students wrote in a letter to the NTNU management.
They also complain about the hostel kitchens being locked, classrooms locked after school hours, a lack of internet service, insufficient journals and books in the school library, exorbitant price of commodities in the school canteen.
They also want the school to adjust time at which the hostel gates are shut and main gates close against visitors, as well as review the constitution of the students’ union government.
The NTNU management’s running of the school stifled freedom and independence guaranteed them as university students, said Abubakar.
“Our rights and privileges are deprived. The management has been taking several vital decisions that affect our lives without consulting us.
“They are telling lies,” said NTNU registrar Kamil Kemanci, responding to questions that students have repeatedly complained about services. But he insisted the management would calm students enough to allow for dialogue.
“If they want to protest, they can protest peacefully. It’s democracy for all,” Kemanci said, but gave no indication they would meet three conditions students set Thursday morning.
The students demanded three conditions before dialoguing with the NTNU management, including that the school inflate the tyres of cars deflated after they were used to bar entry through the school gates.
They also insist the school must not intimidate any student taking part in the peaceful protest.


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