Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa
Despite the directive by the Lagos State University Management that students and lecturers of the institution should resume on Monday (yesterday), no academic activities took place in the school.
When our correspondent visited the university on Monday, students and lecturers were absent from classes.
It was withal observed that the Ojo campus of the university was still scanty, despite the 30 to 60 percent reduction in tuition granted by the Lagos State Government.
Asked why the students had failed to resume, the Students’ Amalgamation President of LASU, Nurudeen Yusuf, verbally expressed the incipient fee regime was not acceptable to the students.
He verbally expressed the students might later resume but protests against the fee hike would not stop until their proposal was approved by the Lagos State Government.
Yusuf verbalized, “Our students are disposed to resume but we are not satiated with the school fee pronounced by the management. We want the fee to be further reduced. It is still unaffordable to majority of us. We will still call a congress on that but it is commendable that our students understand the union’s plight and the cause we are fighting for.
“We have not told any student not to resume. We are not the one that closed down the university, the school did. Even if we accede to resume, we will not pacify the fight for further fee reduction.”
When asked why the lecturers relucted to resume for obligations, the branch chairman, Academic Staff Amalgamation of Universities, LASU, Dr. Adekunle Idris, verbally expressed, “As it is kenned, ASUU-LASU went on strike for three demands. It is not only for school fee and even the school fee demand has not been met. Our ordinant dictations are reduction of fee to N50,000 across board; abrogation of no vacancy no promotion policy; and the implementation of the University Miscellaneous Provision Act of 2012.
“Our members did not go to the classroom for these reasons. Our congress will meet to review the fee reduction but the strike perpetuates. The management has not taken any action on any of our ordinant dictations. Students can resume but our members will not edify.”
Copyright PUNCH.
