UNIOSUN VC Begs Students To Pay Up Their Fees

The Vice Chancellor of Osun State University, Professor Labode Popoola has pleaded with the students of the institution who have not paid their school fees to make the payment within the stipulated time or cease to be students of the university. 

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting comprising the management team of the university, UNIOSUN Parents Porum, staff unions and representatives of the students, the VC said majority of students owed school fees and threatens to implement the ‘no tuition, no exam’ policy if the debtors refused to pay.

Popoola said even if the entire students paid their tuition fees, the whole money would not be sufficient to pay the salaries of the staff of the university and the university could be at the risk of extinction if the habit and culture of non-payment of school fees by the students persist unabated.  

His words “Even if all our students paid their school fees, we will have a little over N1billion revenue in a year whereas that money cannot pay salaries of our staff alone. Of course, we still need money to do other things including the municipal services on our campuses.”

“It is strange that many students refused to pay tuition fees and this is certainly not acceptable anywhere in the world. Any student that failed to pay school fees within the stipulated time would cease to be our student’s henceforth”, the VC said

Popoola said “We would be compelled to enforce the regulation which stipulated that any student that failed to pay school fees for 2 semesters will cease to be a student of UNIOSUN. We shall implement the ‘No school fees no exam policy’.

 “We are in the 6th week of this semester; any student that failed to pay within the stipulated period will not be allowed to attend lectures from June 13. Please don't come to classroom if you are yet to pay your school fees”, Popoola told the students.

The Chairman of the parents’ forum, Justice Jide Falola urged the students who have collected the schools fees from their parents to ensure that they pay it to the account of the university. 

Falola who was represented at the meeting by the Vice Chairman of the parents’ forum, Mr Niran Ojo pleaded with management of the university to extend the deadline for the payment to enable the debtors make the payment.

Some of the students who spoke during the meeting said the economic recession hampered them from pay the school fees and pleaded with the management of the institution to extent the payment period.

In their separate remarks, the Chairman of Academic of Staff Union of University, UNIOSUN branch, Dr Abiona Oluseye, the Chairman of National Association of Academic Technologists, Mr Ismail Adeleke and the representative of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria University, Mr Obisesan Samuel also pleaded for the extension of the deadline for the payment and charged the students to ensure that they pay their school fess without further delay.

The ASUU chairman said it was unfortunate that some students didn’t see the payment of their tuition fees as a priority. He urged the students to pay the school fees so that the university authority would be able to pay the staff.

Some of the students that attended the meeting said if the management extends the deadline for the payment; a large number of students would pay their tuition fees and also pay for the late registration.

By Hameed Oyegbade

VCs of FUTA, FUNAAB Suspended By FG Over Fraud Allegations

The Federal Government on Thursday suspended the embattled Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola and his counterpart at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Olusola Oyewole.

A letter signed by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Hussaini Adamu, noted that the vice-chancellors were suspended in connection with their ongoing trial at the behest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

They were instructed to handover to the most senior Deputy Vice-Chancellors of their respective institutions.

While attempts to reach the Head, Information and Protocol Unit of FUTA, Mr. Adegbenro Adebanjo, to confirm the suspension were unsuccessful on Thursday, a statement by the Head, Directorate of Public Relations, FUNAAB, Mrs. Emi’ Alawode, neither affirmed nor denied the suspension.

“Consultations are in progress with the university administration on the true position of things, while a formal statement will be issued in due course. Meanwhile, all normal academic and administrative activities are ongoing unabated, in the university,’’ she said.

Daramola has a running battle with academic and non-academic members of staff of the university over mismanagement of funds. The unions had also urged the governing council of the university to remove Daramola from office.

Daramola, who had been arraigned by the EFCC, is due for retirement this month. In an earlier interview with our correspondent, he denied the allegations levelled against him.

 “Essentially, what is responsible for this, between the management which I personify and the unions is that, unions usually want some of the resources meant for the development of the university to be given out to them as welfare packages under one guise or the other. On this, I am referring to the non-teaching unions asking for productivity allowance.

“Again, the unions try to resist developmental initiatives in the university. They will rather you spend the money on their welfare after collecting their salaries, to using it to develop infrastructure on the campus. A case in point is the number of projects that we have and the staff unions insisting that we give them 40 per cent of the Internally Generated Revenue as welfare. If we do that, the business of the university such as the maintenance of facilities, provision of power and even the construction of lecture theatres and other things will be grounded,” he had said.

By Samuel Awoyinfa and Folashade Adebayo