TheCable

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has asked the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), to work out an installment-based fee payment policy for its students.

Pedro Obi, NANS president, was reacting to the student unrest that forced the Abia based varsity to shut down its campus in the middle of exams.

MOUAU students staged a violent protest on Tuesday after the institution prevented fee defaulters from writing its ongoing first semester exam.

The management said the protesters took over the university, chased away the vice-chancellor, and damaged cars of some university staff.

It said records showed that 70 percent had paid their fees while over 2,000 were still on the queue to pay and register their courses.

Maduebibisi Iwe, the vice-chancellor, had argued that the “no pay, no exam” policy, which he described as a global norm, is not new.

“University is not a place where people can acquire education on credit. The point is that it is either you have the money to pay and be trained or you stay away,” he said.

Speaking from Enugu, Obi described MOUAU’s “no pay, no exam” policy as “unfair” given Nigeria’s current economic crisis.

“We are deeply concerned that this approach will lead to a significant number of dropouts, negatively affecting the lives and education of our students, thereby leading to more security challenges in the country,” he said.

“We urge the university management to consider alternative ways of addressing the issue of school fee payment.

“Such an approach could be by splitting the payment into manageable installments per semester, rather than expecting a one-time payment.

“Education should not be a privilege reserved for a select few but a fundamental right accessible to all. We implore the university management to prioritise the welfare of the students and dialogue with the committee set up by the NANS national secretariat.”