Jos – Academic activities at the Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos, were totally paralysed on Monday, when postgraduate students of the institute staged a peaceful protest over what they described as inhuman treatment by the school management.
Our correspondent gathered that as early as 8 am, the students in their large numbers blocked the entrance into the school premises with more than five cars, and prevented staff from gaining access into their offices.
Some of the students carried placard with inscriptions that read: “What is our certificate worth?”; “Who signed our certificate”; and “Where are the well-equipped laboratories that was advertised”.
Other placards read: “Where are the practical equipments promise us”; “Where is the $120 million from the World Bank fund?” and “How authentic is the affiliation of NIMG to Unijos, FUTA and Pennsylvania State University”, among others.
Spokesman of the Students, Mr. Abraham Onoshegbegbe, lamented the poor state of facilities in the institute. He alleged that they were made to believe that the institute had well-equipped laboratories, and that trainings would be held outside Nigeria.
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According to him, none of those were made available to them by the management as advertised.
He decried the change in organisational structure of the institute, stressing that under the new arrangement the school had no bursar or registrar.
Onoshegbegbe further added that the school claimed it signed an MoU with the authorities of the University of Jos, yet the institute had not been accredited.
The spokesman said, “We have not finished defending our project, yet the management gave a notice for us to vacate our hostel; we went times without number to see the CEO but they will not allow us to see him.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Idris Umar, who is a director in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, could not be reached on his mobile phone for comments.
The Public Relations Officer, who simply gave his name as Oscar, said that he would only wait for the directive of his boss before making any comments.
