Unilorin Students Threaten to Boycott Exams

Unilorin Students Threaten to Boycott Exams

Students of the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences (CIS), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), have threatened to boycott the ongoing second semester examinations in the school if the leadership of their faculty fails to refund the sum of N2500 out of the initial N5000 they paid to access internet facility for the whole session, but which they didn't enjoy throughout the first semester.

In a letter signed by the executives of the faculty students' association and presidents of the five departments within the CIS faculty, and sent to the Dean of Students Affairs, the students vowed to stop writing the ongoing examinations if they do not receive their refunds on or before June 3, 2013.

Part of the letter reads: "If by Monday, June 3, 2013, the students of the faculty whose account numbers have been verified do not receive their refunds, we would have no option than to boycott ongoing second semester examinations, as a way of registering our grievances over the injustice metted on us.

"We would also go public by sending a press statement to both national and state-owned media houses and also publish articles on the internet to let the public know the kind of unfair treatment we receive here in our faculty. By doing this, we don't intend to tarnish the image of the school; we only want justice."

At the outset of the 2012/13 academic session which began last October, the management of the institution directed every student of the CIS faculty to pay a sum of N5000 for them to have access to internet facility within the school throughout the session. But the students did not enjoy internet connection for the whole of first semester.

It was gathered that the students, under the aegis of Communication and Information Sciences Students Association (CISSA), agitated for a refund of half of the internet access fee they paid for, and this was approved by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali on February 18. The university management consequently released the refunds to the leadership of the faculty, but the faculty is yet to refund the students since then, without providing any reason for not doing so.

The CISSA president, Anyim Obinna Anyim said that the students could not bear any form of extortion again, adding that Mass Communication students of the school suffered huge extortion, before it was stopped by the current VC when he assumed office last October.