Nation Association Of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has written to the Management of Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro asking for the immediate reversal of the payment of N5000 as a facility upgrade fee by the students. The management of the polytechnic had earlier approved payment of the sum of five thousand naira (N5,000) only for facility upgrade in compliance with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines.
The letter by the association reads, "I bring to you our reverential and esteem greetings of solidarity from the second-largest students' movement in Africa.
NAPS is the apex body governing all students studying in Polytechnics, Monotechnics, Colleges of Technology, and all other allied institutions awarding national and higher national diploma certificates nationwide and the diaspora.
I wish to refer to the above subject matter; the leadership of NAPS Senate reject in totality your management anti students policies, maladministration and move to extort innocent Nigerian students all in the name of a facility upgrade
While the leadership is still at the peak of negotiations with the federal government and relevant institutions to give the Nigerian students her own share or palliatives either by waving an academic session for all students or payments of bursary as the students were never carried along during the global pandemic lockdown.
Your decision to extort Nigerian students in the name of facility upgrade in this present time when students are still struggling to survive and how to resume school with the increment in food commodities, expiration of hostel, increment in electric tariff, high cost of transportation among others is not just anti students but also inhumane and evil.
Your management can not be bent in suffocating the Nigerian students at all time, upon resumption your management have issued a memo ordering all students to pay up school fee or they will not have the access to write their first semester examination, despite the hard time and knowing fully well that the same students are coming back for second semester your management could not be considerate and fair to the students rather have derive another means to extort Nigerian students.
As a leadership with the sole aim to protect the legitimate rights of the students and give voice to the voiceless students, we believe that government and institutions are ready and have made adequate preparations to curtail the spread of Covid19 before releasing a date for school reopening Our students cannot be locked down for months, academic calendar delayed and will be extorted upon resumption as if they are the cause of the pandemic.
The NAPS senate after wide consultations with critical stakeholders and following the emergence senate meeting that was held on the 6th of October 2020 resolve as follow;
1. That the management of your institution should reverse with immediate effect the payment of 5,000 naira by students for facility upgrade.
2. That the institution should take responsibilities as management not using any opportunity to extort students, students make payments tor students weltare, insurance ree, health tee, sport tee etc, but are not taken care of, your management should use those fee to make necessary provisions for the students.
3.That your institution is made up of staff and students, and the staff are the ones receiving salaries and have been receiving salaries while students are at home, askin8 the students to pay tor a global pandemic and exonerating your staff who are lkely the ones to use any facility more than the students as they are the ones moving trom one place to other is not acceptable.
4. That no student(s) is expected to pay any fee in the name of facility upgrade.
5. That the management should issue out another press statement to withdraw the previous on or before Friday 9th 2020.
6. That failure for your management to adhere and attend to our demand on or before 9th October 2020, the leadership will be left with no other option than to relocate temporary her secretariat to your institution with the aim to shut down academic activities.
Until Man Dies, the Struggle Continues.
Yours in Struggle;
H.E Gen DIO, Oghale Emeka Rex
President of the Senate
Comrade Inedi Bright
Senate Clerk
CC:
Governor of Delta State
Commissioner for Higher Education Delta State
Chairman, House Committee on Education
Director, DSS Delta State Command
Commissioner for Police, Delta State Command
SSA and SAs on Students Affaires, Delta State
SUG President, DSPZ
NUJ Delta State
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