A six-member joint management-student committee has been set up by the management of the University of Nigeria to address grievances raised by medical and dental students of the Enugu campus of the university.
THE WHISTLER reports that the development followed a recent protest by students of the College of Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC). The students had hinged their protest on over imposition of fees, non-streamlined hostel allocations and dwindling welfare.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Uchenna Ortuanya, during at interactive session with the students, said there would be no victimisation against the protesters. He regretted that he was on an official assignment overseas when the students carried out the protest. He explained that it coincided with the launch of the QS World University Rankings at the Association of African Universities headquarters in Accra, Ghana, where UNN was ranked 19th out of 690 universities in Sub-Saharan Africa, improving from its previous 46th position in Africa and moving from 12th to 3rd in Nigeria.
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He told the undergraduates not to have any fear of victimisation. He said, “Don’t forget I was also here as a student where I was the Speaker of the Parliament and had also interfaced between the students and management. I had also taught here and had been in the management. I only felt you would have exercised a little patience until I returned to hold this parley we are having now.”
He said the fee hike in the university was informed by some changes which the institution was embarking on. “We cannot keep doing the same thing that is problematic and expect a different and better result. We need to make sacrifices for today and tomorrow. You are here now. Your children will be here tomorrow studying to be doctors. We must therefore blow the bridge and make retreat in our reforms impossible. Some of these may be uncomfortable now but with time they would get us to a better standing.”
The President of the University of Nigeria Nsukka Medical Students Association (UNNMSA), Comrade Abraham Chukwuka, had during the interface presented a seven-point document entitled “Urgent Appeal for Key Improvements in Fee Structure, Hostel Allocation, Accommodation Management, and Related Welfare Matters for Clinical MBBS/BDS Students.”
He demanded, among others, a review of school fees of students whose programmes were prolonged by industrial actions and the COVID-19 pandemic; the establishment of an independent Directorate of Housing and Accommodation for the Ituku-Ozalla campus; restoration of the traditional class-based hostel allocation system; expansion of Wi-Fi access in hostels; adequate bed space allocations for clinical classes, and assurance of non-victimization of students who participated in the protest.
The Director of Housing and Accommodation of the university, Dr Aaron Agbo, attributed the accommodation challenges in UNN to corruption and syndicate activities that previously distorted hostel administration and bed space allocations for pecuniary gains. The current administration is dismantling the system and restoring transparency, fairness and accountability, he said.
The six-member committee comprises three representatives each from management and the students, and was given seven days to submit its recommendations. It is chaired by Professor Obi Nnamchi, with Dr Obialumma Okafor as Secretary.