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UniJos students protest poor hostel, health facilities

MANY students of the University of Jos (UniJos) took to the university’s main campus on Monday, April 15, to protest what they described as poor health and hostel facilities and understaffing at their school clinic.

As seen in videos shared with The ICIR, the students climbed the school gate that was shut down against some of the school staff, chanting protest songs and calling on the school management to meet their demands.

They protested the lack of drugs, proper medical equipment, poor toilets and leakage of their hostels despite the astronomical’ increase in their school.


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The students also carried placards with different inscriptions, including “insufficient medical facilities in the school clinics, and yet school fees were increased.”

Sources who spoke to The ICIR said the protest was the second in two weeks, adding that Monday’s agitation was prompted by the deaths of two students who died in the school facilities, with one shortly after being taken to the Jos Teaching Hospital.

They said although the university management argued that the deaths were not a result of medical negligence and poor health facilities, they would not agree with such a claim.

“The school management rendered poor services to us, which has left our hostel accommodations in bad shape.

For example, the Abuja hostel, which formed largely part of today’s protest, is leaking from the roof, has blocked and broken soakaway, and sewage is floating around the hostel, polluting the environment.

“We do not have adequate water and light in the hostel. Our school clinic is poorly equipped. This was why management opted to increase our school charges from 45,000 naira to one between N105,000 and N1 135,000.

There have been protests in the institution in the past over poor infrastructure and hike in school tuition fees.




     

     

    In September 2023, the students blocked roads leading to the campus in protest following increased school fees and other services rendered by the institution.

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    Led by the students’ union leaders, the students called for an urgent reversal of the hike in school fees and other university services.

    According to reports, the school fees and other charges were hiked from N40,000 to N160,000 per academic session, with some expected to pay more based on department and level.

    Meanwhile, efforts by The ICIR to get the Dean of the university’s Students’ Affairs, Chris. Piwuna, a professor, to speak on the allegations against the school proved abortive. His known phone number was unreachable, and he did not reply to a text message sent to the line.

     

    Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M

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