Ekiti Varsity Students Protest ‘Outrageous’ Internet Connection Charge
The students of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, on Monday staged a protest against outrageous wireless internet connection charges slammed on them by the authorities of the university.
The protesting students came out in their large numbers and gathered at the main gate of the school as early as 7.30 am locking the gate and prevented fellow students, teaching and non-teaching staff from gaining entry into the campus.
Some of their placard read, “Enough is Enough, we do not need wireless Internet connection in the university”, “We don’t need your internet connections anymore”, “We are not ready to pay heavy charges anymore”.
The students, who were singing anti-management songs, and marching round the main gate of the university did not destroy or damage any of the institution property while peaceful protest lasted.
They accused the management of exploiting them by making them to pay as much as N13,500 for wireless Internet connection for two semesters, which most them do not subscribe to.
They added that the management did not put into consideration the current economic challenges facing them and especially their parents, who they claimed were mostly civil servants and were being owed several months of arrears of salaries.
Commenting on the he development, a student of the institution, Miss Anjorin Kemisola, said she regretted being a student of the university because since she gained admission, the tuition fees have been going up without any consideration by the management on the plights of their parents.
“I wish to say that am not happy with the way the management of the Ekiti state university are charging us, our tuition fees have always been going up, department fees are exorbitant, presently they are charging us for wireless Internet connection that we do not use at all. I regret coming to this university, “she said.
Another student, Ogundipe Gbenga, said that they decided to embark on the peaceful protest to inform the management of the institution that they can no longer pay for internet connection that is not useful to them.
He said most times, the internet connection was not always available for them to use and they prefer to subscribe to internet services from the telecommunication outfits such as MTN, GLO, Airtel, among others.
Gbenga alleged that the staff are the people enjoying the internet connections, saying that, “most of them will put off the data on their phones and link up with the school internet to be watching or downloading films.
“Most of us use phone with various communication data, so, we don’t use the school internet connection because it is not useful to us.
“We therefore want to appeal to the management to remove the wireless internet connection from the school charges because it is not convenient for them and their parents.
Commenting on the development, the Deputy Registrar, Information and Corporate Affairs of the university, Mr Ajibade Olubunmi, said he was not aware of the protest.
“Am not aware of any protest on this campus because when I was coming to work, I did not see anyone protesting individually or in group or groups protesting, but I will investigate and get back to you, “he said on phone.
Meanwhile, as of the time of filling this report, Olubunmi has not called back, while his mobile phones are switched off.
