Students accuse UNILAG of extortion

Some students of the University of Lagos, Akoka (UNILAG), have accused the institution of extortion.

Many of the students who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES pleaded anonymity to avoid victimisation by the management through suspension or expulsion from the institution.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the institution at the beginning of the 2018/2019 academic session introduced a GST(General Studies) material fee for all students for the compulsory course.

All 100 level and 200 level students were asked to pay N2500 each for the course, while the others in upper classes paid N1000 each.

“Paying the fee for some of us is a big challenge. While I have paid mine, many of my colleagues could not pay and they were not even permitted for exams,” a student said.

Another student who simply identified himself as Ismail, on Monday morning, said some students who challenged the decision of the authorities were dealt with in the past.

The students also accused the institution of breaching the law of the university which mandates that students must be represented in committees on any issue that has to do with their affairs.

A student said: “The most ridiculous thing about this fee is that students only paid the fee to get access to an online platform where lecture notes of the GST were shared. So, there was no form of hard copy book that we were asked to pay for.

“We only paid to access lectures from GST department whose staff are already on the payroll of the federal government.

“Another important thing was that during the examination, students who didn’t pay were not allowed to do the GST exam despite the fact that they paid school fee.

“Normally, in federal government universities, school fee always have a breakdown. All students who have paid school fee have already paid for examination under the breakdown and yet some students were stopped from writing GST exam after paying their school fee.”

Authorities react:

When contacted on Monday morning, Ademola Adeleke, a professor and Dean of Students’ Affairs, said the law did not provide for student representatives in any academy decision.

He also said students do not have a right to determine the amount to the paid for the controversial course.

Mr Adeleke further said 98 per cent of students had complied with the institution’s decision.