The protesting Kaduna students (Photo: Channels TV)
Students of the Kaduna State University on Tuesday took to the streets to protest the hike in tuition fees by the state government.
They demanded that the state government reversed the increment which they claimed was meant to deny them western education.
The students, who have been protesting the hike within their school premises since last week, went a step further when they decided to take their grievance to the government doorstep.
The protesting students marched from their campus located along the Tafawa Balewa Way through Muhammadu Buhari Way (formerly WAFF road) and headed toward Government House before they were prevented by security operatives comprising the regular police and men of the Kaduna State Vigilante Group.
But the students decided to sit on the main road, chanting solidarity songs such as ‘education must be free’, and ‘our school fees must be reversed,’ among others.
Muslims among the students also observed their afternoon prayers on the main road leading to the government.
Ayuba Mohammed, one of the leaders of the protesting students, said they were on their way to the government to submit a letter before they were prevented by security operatives.
According to him, the majority of the students are orphans and children of the poor who could not afford the fee increment.
He feared that failure to reverse the fee would force many of the students to drop out.
He said, “It is unfortunate that our present leaders enjoyed free education during their days while in school but now they are trying to send the children of the poor out of school.
“We are pleading with them to have a rethink and reverse the tuition fee for the students of the poor to also acquire western education.
“Some of us are orphans and children of the poor who can not afford the fee.”
The new fees schedule in the student’s portal shows that returning students will pay a flat rate of N100,000 irrespective of the course of study and indigenisation, the new students, indigenes will pay N150,000 for art and humanities and N171,000 for sciences while non-indigenes would pay N221,000 minimum.
Also for social sciences, indigenes will pay N170,000, non-indigenes will pay N200,000 while indigenes admitted to study medicine would pay N300,000 while non-indigenes would pay N400,000.
