How Ospoly DPT Students Protest, Injured HND 1 Mates, get Exam suspended

Agency Report

At about the Mid-day of today, the Daily Part-Time students of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, 2020/2021 academic session protested against the management over the restrictions placed on some of the students to not take examinations because they failed to pay tuition fees.

PIJAONLINE had reported the issue which started since yesterday the students had started their examination (click here to read), but today it skyrocketed to a massive protest that led some students of Mass Communication, HND 1 injured barbarically.

Yesterday, some students have protested in front of the office of the Director of Examination, Mr Ogungbade that they weren’t allowed to enter the examination halls because they failed to pay their tuition fees.

The students said, “it is not that we’ll not pay, we are in the last session of our academics. Any issues now would certainly attract us to having an extra year.

“We do not want that. We will pay, it is not hard for the management to let us take examinations without payment, at least we have matriculation numbers. It is very easy, management can make it that we’ll not collect results without paying the tuition fees,” one of the students said to our correspondent yesterday.

Ogungbade had said yesterday that students who fail to take their examination will rerun the session, “I have nothing to do about it than what I have done.”

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Students’ Union Government, Comrade Tee Taiwo had insisted that these students should be pitied to at least take their examinations, considering the economic status of the country.

He said if the management didn’t allow them to take their examinations it appears that management is not maintaining a father-and-son relationship again with the students and are now taking students as “slaves.”

Mr Ogungbade had corrected him saying, there is no slaves but servants. “Every gathering” to him, “maintain vassal and suzerain relationships. It has been in existence for years. As I am, I am a servant to the Rector. Rector is a servant to the state government, while the state government remain a servant to the federal government. It is normal but, ‘slaves’ is what is not right and we don’t take you for that,” he had said.

It was resolved that the Students’ Union Government would meet with the Rector and discuss how the Rector will help the students who couldn’t take their examination take it again without rerunning the session.

However, it was not known whether the Students’ Union later went to meet with the Rector before the protest of today began (Read the eyewitnesses gist here)

Without paying respect to the former complaints of the students, management allowed their examinations to continues today again with students who couldn’t pay their tuition fees excluded from entering the examination hall to do their examination.

Investigation done shows that Olamide, Dammy, Akinwande Abiola, Alaba Grace were the known HND 1 mass communication students injured during the protest of the DPT students at the PLT Lecture Hall. While many others unknown sustain minor injuries.

According to Mr Olayinka Akinola, an International Relations (GNS 321) course lecturer, he was in class taking the HND 1 students when the protest started.

“I was in class taking international relations when the protest started. I don’t even know, all I just saw was glassy bottles soaring before me. I dodged one, I never knew that it’s going to hit my students.”

Dammy who was hit by a bottle on her left cheek, alongside her friend, Olamide said, “I was in the class, with my friend receiving an International Relations lecture when all of the sudden it happens. The bottle that hit my friend on her head boomerang to my cheek because we were sitting together and that was it.”

Olamide was hit at the top layer of her left eye, around her forehead.

The duo is currently receiving treatment at the school medical centre.

Other injured students sustain minor injuries.

Dean of Students Affairs also pays a courtesy visit to the medical centre immediately after the incident.

Meanwhile, the PLT hall the protest took place was at first used in the morning for examination. After the examination, HND 1 students lectures were slated to come up around 11am before the start of the afternoon session of the examination.

This occurred because both set of students wait their turn to make use of the same hall for different objectives: one for lectures, other for examination.

Read Also:

Ospoly: Mass Comm Students Cry out over want of lecture rooms

Ospoly: We must not fail your course, Mr Sanusi, students say

So at about 12:10pm Daily Part-Time ND II students who couldn’t pay their tuition fees protested.

They are of the view that their mates are in the hall and are now getting ready for the examination that is why they protested that no examination must take place except the school management allowed the students who missed their examination yesterday to take it again, a source said.

“We never knew that it was HND 1 students of Mass Communication that were in the class before we started the protest.

“Our stand is to protest against the act of inhumanity perpetrated against us. Imagine, they knew we cannot pay tuition fees, they still added #10,000 to it today for late payment, where do they want us to get it?”

However, the coordinator of the DPT students, D. I. Babalola has called for calm citing that the management is doing everything necessary for the betterment of the students.

“You’re not goats, that you’re DPT students and we have full-time students doesn’t mean anything. When both of the students’ results are issued out there will not be written DPT, or full-time inscription on it.

“Mind you, all the money we are collecting from you are with the consent of the state government.”

Furthermore, in the course of filing this report, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, management issued out an internal memorandum that announced the suspension of the ND II students’ examination until further notice.

Breaking: Ospoly Mgt Suspends DPT exam

Management has not spoken any statement except that it suspended the Students’ examinations.

Agency Report

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