UI students complain as power failure hits during exams

The University of Ibadan has suffered irregular power supply during the ongoing students’ exams.

The exams started four weeks ago. In what some students have described as recurring, the power supply became irregular as the exam started reaching the worst level last week.

Consequently, the situation has affected students, like Toyiib Olayiwola, who prefer reading at night.

“There is no assurance there would be light at night,” said Mr Olayiwola, who now has to spend daytime reading.

Even so, while he has tried to adapt to the current erratic power condition during the examination season, his devices could hardly sustain him when he reads during the day.

“Most of my course materials are in soft copy; in the absence of light, I can’t charge my phone making it impossible to access those materials,” he lamented.

Medical student Abdulbaseet Arilesere has a similar challenge.

“I suffered and still suffer from the poor electricity supply in my hall, Independence Hall,” Mr Arilesere said. I depend almost 90% on my mobile devices to read and as I’m still writing my exams, it makes reading a little bit difficult for me.”

Apart from reading, the power situation has impacts on students’ daily living. Many of them, we gathered, have had to go gone days without bathing because the situation affects water supply in the halls of residence.

“Left to me, I would say it’s a calculated mischief,” Raji Aliu said.

“I can’t fathom the rationale behind the tradition of making power epileptic during the period of examinations.

“Could this be to deliberately fail the students?” the penultimate Pharmacy student queried.

“Students are forced to leave the convenience of their rooms and hostels in search of light in specific areas of the school such as anatomy department, exposing them to all sort of security dangers.”

Another student, Mr Olayiwola said: “I think it is almost becoming a culture of the University that whenever the examination comes, the light becomes unstable, maybe exam and light are inversely related, I don’t know.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Director of Works and Maintenance, University of Ibadan, Kehinde Ajibola, yielded nothing. Calls placed to his line at different times weren’t answered.