Medical students — especially those of the University of Ibadan — are some of the most conservative students you’d ever find around. Usually, whenever the rest of the school boils, they can hardly be found anywhere near the protest spots. However, as we speak, they are currently protesting.
That is because the management of the university has introduced a new schedule of levies for the 2017/2018 academic session, which saw accommodation levy rise by 114% from N14,000 to N40,000 for medical students — although other students saw theirs rise to ‘only’ N30,000.
A new levy was also introduced for students of clinical sciences, dentistry, basic medical sciences and public health, called ‘Health Professional Pre-Clinical and Clinical Training Levy’. It ranges between ₦75,000 and ₦100,000, depending on the level of each student.
Students of the university have consequently embarked on a demonstration to express their grievances and demand a reversal of the hike. They are seen wielding placards, with inscriptions such as ‘Save Ibadan Medicine’, ‘No to Fee Hike’, ‘Education: The Hope of the Common Man’, ‘No to COMUI Extortion’, among others.
At a meeting held on Wednesday, they had resolved to boycott lectures, commence a sit-at-home movement and lock down Alexander Brown Hall.
See photos of the demonstration below:
'Kunle works with The ICIR as an investigative reporter and fact-checker. You can shoot him an email via aadebajo@icirnigeria.org or, if you're feeling particularly generous, follow him on Twitter @KunleBajo.