By Damilare Adeleye
Students at Lagos State University (LASU) are currently in uproar, expressing their utmost dissatisfaction over the imposition of CBT fee by the school management.
It was gathered that the fee, which was put at ten thousand naira (N10,000), was introduced on the students’ portal on Friday, July 6.
While the essence for the new fee has yet not be made known by the school authorities, many students, however, have rejected the development with an hashtag that reads: “#SAYNOTOEXTORTION.”
A capture attached to the hashtag called on student populace to protest against the “unacceptable” and “unjust” fee.
It reads, “The student populace finds it unfair to pay the LASUCBT Fee as we do not know the details behind it. We employ every student to speak up and fight for their rights as it is unjust and unacceptable.
“This is an opportunity to stand up against creating unnecessary burden on students of the institution through the introduction of unnecessary fees, and we must all come together to fight against it and say no to students’ extortion!”
A student in the institution, who did not want to be mentioned in this report for fear of being intimidated, told our reporter that many of them were frustrated by the development.
He said, “Students are really frustrated but I don’t think anyone would want to openly show it due to the risk of losing studentship.”
Another student, who also preferred anonymity, told our reporter that there were other additional fees introduced by the school management including a counseling fee of N5,000 and forensic fee which was put at N1,500.
He, however, expressed loss of confidence in the students’ union body on the heel of the several fees imposed on the students.
He said, “I heard the LASUSU guys will be meeting the VC on Monday. But the students do not have hope in these politicians. They’ve been so toothless.
“There have been so many increments in the past months, and these guys have not made any attempt to mediate on behalf of the students. When they even try the management barely take them serious.”
Meanwhile, the LASUSU Students’ Union, in a statement shared with the public by the Public Relations Officer, Comrade Ibiade Benjamin, urged the students to refrain from making any payments related to the new CBT fee until further notice.
The union observed that many students were already facing financial challenges, noting that the additional fee would impose an extra burden.
The statement reads, “Sequel to the introduction of the new fee for the Computer Based Test (CBT). After careful consideration and discussions with various stakeholders, we Strongly advice that Students should not pay this new CBT fee at this time.
“Many students and their families are already facing financial challenges and this additional fee imposes an extra burden. More importantly to to note is that, this new fee was introduced without prior notification or consultation with the students body.
“Greatest Lasuites, your cooperation and patience are highly appreciated as we engage the school management to work towards a fair and reasonable outcome. We understand that these are trying times for us but we are assuring you again that your interest is our topmost priority.
“We also seek your continuous support and trust as we work tirelessly to address your grievances to the appropriate quarters. Keep eye on our official channels as we would communicate out next line of action as soon as we hear from the management.”
All efforts to reach out to the school management proved abortive as we could not get the contact of the institution’s Public Relations Officer as at the time of filing this report.