EDUCATION RIGHT CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE TOTAL REVERSAL OF RUFUS GIWA POLY TUITION FEE - Support Students Protest - Students should also protest against poor learning conditions Exact two weeks today the management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPOL) declared a two week closure of the polytechnic campus after a peaceful protest organized by the students of the institution. The protest which was staged at early hour of sunday was to express the displeasure of the students over the outrageous fee impose on them and the penalty of denying the students who are unable to meet up with the payment within the short period given of writing the institution unified test. Findings revealed that this fee hike is coming for the second time by the school management by the last TWO years. The management had during the 2012/13 academic session increased the fee ranging from N17,000 – N24,000 to between N 43,800 – N 63,500 for ND while that of HND was increased from between N 29,000 – N 38,000 to N 58,500 – N 75, 800 respectively. Now, the Ordinary National Diploma, OND, have to pay N73,000 instead of N63,500 while Higher National Diploma, HND, are to pay N90,000 instead of N75,800. The new fee hike regime excluded other normal unnecessary imposed fees such as ICT, Data Processing, Entrepreneurship, Log book, Hand book and field trip/educational tour which sum up to give N15,500. That students have to pass through hard labour before getting the previous fee paid, but afraid the fee hike will only increase the number of drop outs. Its a big shame this is happening in a state believed to be under the control of a Labour Force political party Labour Party. Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condemns the insensitive and anti- poor actions of the management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPOL). We argue that the management of the institution only want to its own share of the wave of the neo-liberal attacks on education currently raging across the country. We support the students who are protesting the institution’s hike in the fees; call them to also protest against the Poor Facilities on the campus. Rufus Giwa Polytechnic pay the highest tuition fee among other state owned tertiary institutions in the south-west but have the poorest adequate learning facilities; poor hostel facilities and tattered offices for staffs of the institutions. We call on the staffs of the institution to emulate their counterpart in Lagos State University(LASU) during the # SaveLASU struggle; by declaring a warning strike in solidarity for the students. We call on the management of Rufus Giwa polytechnic to listen to the demands of the protesting students by immediately reversing the fee hike not to the initial amount but to the rate of other institutions in the south west. The government has the responsibility to fund public education adequately from the state treasury in its care. We also warn that no student be victimized for participating in the protest. We believe that education is a right, not a privilege. The only obstacle to this is the corruption of the ruling elite and the anti-poor system of capitalism. This is why, to permanently win our demands, we need a working peoples political alternative to end capitalism and enthrone a democratic socialist Nigeria. The Management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic will be saving itself a lot of trouble if it honorably reverses its plans to hike fees. Comrade Afolabi Aguda DSM Osun State/ERC Ondo State
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:15:33 +0000
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