By correspondent in Ilorin
Many Slstudents of the Kwara state University (KWASU), Malete on Monday staged a demonstration to protest alleged clamp down on off-campus accommodation policy.
The students, who came out in scores, chanted solidarity songs at the school’s entrance gate to say that they should be allowed to stay off campus and not in school hostel.
The Reporters gathered that the school management had devised a means to discourage off campus stay by students with increase in exemption fee for those who have to stay outside the school.
Our Correspondent reports that the students who were not pleased with the directive came out to protest the alleged increment in exemption fee on Monday, telling the university authorities to rescind the decision.
Speaking with newsmen, the university spokesperson, Razak Sanni, said that the school had only decided to stand strictly by what the policy in accommodation said.
Sanni, who debunked the report that the school was closed because of the protest, said that the students protest was prevented from getting out of hand on time.
“Students actually protested saying that the school has increased the exemption fee for not staying in the school hostel. We are now saying that we don’t even want any monetary involvement as regards hostel accommodation.
” We now want to stand strictly by what the policy says because we discovered that students don’t want to stay in school hostel again and only want to just pay exemption fee and not stay in the hostel.
“The increment in the exemption fee is just to discourage them from staying off campus and be forced to stay in school hostel where we can monitor them properly.
” But as it is now, we’re now saying there’s no more payment, be it N20,000 or N10,000 or whatever. We’re not taking any money any longer. Pay for school hostel accommodation and stay in the school hostel. That’s what the policy says for final and fresh students.
“However, the exemption is for example, nursing mothers who can’t stay away from their children or wives who have to be at home with spouses or those who have proof of serious medical impairment that would prevent them from staying alone.
“However, no financial attachment to the policy any more. That’s why they protested,” he said.
