Kwara students protest virtual lectures over unbearable data cost

• Students of Ahman Pategi University person protested the school’s displacement to virtual lectures, citing precocious information costs and mediocre net arsenic large barriers
• They besides raised concerns implicit the deficiency of accreditation for their world programs, leaving galore final-year students uncertain astir their future
• The unrest comes amid broader telecom tariff hikes successful Nigeria and a enactment vacuum pursuing the founder’s death

Students of Ahman Pategi University successful Patigi, Kwara State, person kicked against the institution’s determination to follow virtual lectures, citing rising information costs and mediocre net connectivity arsenic important challenges.

Legit.ng learned that the students staged a protestation connected Monday to dependable their grievances, accusing the university absorption of transforming the schoolhouse into a virtual instauration without due consultation oregon capable infrastructure to enactment online learning.

Ahman Pategi University students person bemoaned the displacement successful the mode of learning successful school. Image: Ahman Pategi University/FB
Source: Facebook

“We carried retired the protests to explicit our grievances implicit the absorption of Ahman Pategi University this week, ” Usman, a 300-level pupil of the university, told Legit.ng.

Usman added:

“We are rejecting virtual lectures. We are practically not having carnal classes now. The absorption is indirectly turning the schoolhouse into a virtual school. This is not a NOUN university. This is not what we were promised erstwhile we were offered admission. We started with carnal classes.”

Students cannot spend outgo of data

He noted that galore students can nary longer spend the precocious outgo of information pursuing the caller terms hikes by telecom companies.

“Everyone knows however costly information is present successful Nigeria owed to the caller hike. It is not what we tin prolong again. A batch of america are complaining. We don’t privation virtual classes again,” helium said.“Not lone data, the web issues too. The web is not reliable. There are times atrocious web volition adjacent marque the classes frustrating. The lecturers volition beryllium talking and you volition hardly perceive and recognize anything. And the assemblage was not approved arsenic an e-learning centre. It was approved arsenic a regular schoolhouse similar others. The absorption are conscionable overburdening america with the instauration of these virtual classes,” helium added.

NCC approves 50% tariff hike

The students’ complaints travel astatine a clip erstwhile Nigerian telecom users are grappling with accrued information tariffs pursuing a regulatory greenish airy from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

All teleco companies person accrued the outgo of some information and telephone rates. Image: Getty
Source: Getty Images

The NCC had earlier approved a 50% summation successful tariffs, prompting telecom giants similar MTN Nigeria to hike prices by up to 200% successful immoderate cases. Although MTN aboriginal reversed the summation aft a nationalist outcry, galore networks inactive support importantly higher rates, with ample information plans costing up to N70,000.

Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had said during a February forum with telco executives that the terms hike was indispensable owed to the precocious operational costs faced by telecom companies.

Despite the justification from telcos, the caller tariff authorities has sparked aggravated statement crossed the country, with galore Nigerians complaining astir the load it places connected households already struggling with ostentation and economical hardship.

Accreditation Issues

President of the Students Representative Council successful the school, Aliyu Dangbana, a final-year student, besides raised concerns implicit the deficiency of accreditation of the institution’s world programmes.

“Nigerian University Commission offered our schoolhouse 14 courses. This made america person 2 faculties. None of these courses person been accredited. The NUC adjacent invited our absorption to travel and bash the accreditation, but they refused,” Aliyu said.

He explained that the schoolhouse absorption was invited for the accreditation process aggregate times but failed to honour the invitations.

“Presently, we (the 400-level students), our lives are uncertain due to the fact that the schoolhouse appears not to beryllium acceptable to transportation due accreditation of our courses arsenic suggested by NUC. Fourteen courses were affected,” helium lamented.“Even successful past October, the students went to the absorption astir this issue, erstwhile we heard that they turned down the NUC connection to statesman accreditation visitation successful our school. The absorption appealed to america that the schoolhouse was presently not acceptable due to the fact that of finances. And they told america that they volition constitute a postponement to NUC and scheduled different date, January 19, 2025, for the accreditation visitation. But thing was done again.”

Aliyu added that the students had earlier staged a protestation successful January 2025 to property location their demands.

“They resolved it and begged the students that the accreditation has been fixed archetypal week of March 2025. During this time, we expected that accreditation volition instrumentality place. And the clip came, nary signs of accreditation. It was astatine this clip the VC confessed to the students that his hands are tied connected the accreditation.”

Death of Founder

Amid the turmoil, students astatine Ahman Pategi University accidental the precocious founder’s decease whitethorn person contributed to the existent challenges facing the school.

The founder, Ahman Patigi, a erstwhile lawmaker who represented Edu/Moro/Patigi Federal Constituency of Kwara State successful the 6th, 7th, and 8th Assemblies, passed distant successful October 2024 astatine the property of 59 aft a little illness.

During his clip successful the House of Representatives, Patigi served arsenic the Chairman of the House Committee connected Water Resources. Students of the assemblage judge his demise has near a enactment vacuum that is present affecting the school’s progress.

Ahman Pategi University is 1 of the 20 backstage institutions approved for constitution by the Federal Executive Council successful February 2021.

Residents fly Kwara homes

Similarly, Legit.ng reported that a deadly communal clash implicit a disputed cashew farm had near astatine slightest two radical dead and respective others injured successful Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The convulsive confrontation, which erupted connected Friday betwixt residents of Osi and Ẹpẹ-Opin communities, has forced galore locals to fly their homes.

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Source: Legit.ng