Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The National Union of Bayelsa State Students (NUBSS) has warned against a planned protest over the purported increase in school fees at the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, blaming mischief-makers for the rumoured purported increase in fees.
This was even as Registrars and Bursars of state-owned tertiary institutions in the state had denied any increase in fees by the six tertiary institutions.
President of NUBSS, Mr. Ozu Important, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, said those peddling the rumour of planned fees increase were on a mission to cause disaffection between the students and the management of the university and other tertiary institutions in the state.
Important who urged parents to dismiss the rumour noting that the current school fees were the same as those paid in the last academic session, disclosed that union had met with the management of the NDU which according to him insisted that it had not announced any increase in school fees.
The statement read in part, “We have crossed-checked with the school authority and we can say it without any contradiction that there is no increment in school fees at the NDU. It is a false alarm being raised by some expired political forces.
“The leadership of NUBSS is therefore calling on all students at the NDU not to be part of the protest. We heard that some mercenaries have been hired from outside the state to be part of the charade. This is the extent of their desperation.
“Let us use this medium to appeal to the various unions and the management of NDU to quickly resolve their disagreement for the sake of the students. We want a better NDU that will be the pride for us all”
Meanwhile, the bursars and the registrars made the clarification on school fees hike in a meeting presided over by the Chief of Staff Government House, Rt. Hon. Talford Ongolo, which was also attended by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, his Labour, Employment and Productivity counterpart, Chief Collins Cocodia and the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson.
They expressed shock at the wild rumour stating further that their records showed that students were paying what was paid in the last academic session.