Students of the Ondo State College of Health Technology, Akure, on Monday protested against what they described as extortion and deteriorating infrastructure within the institution.

The protesting students, who shut down activities at the institution, accused the school’s management of shunning their demands despite a series of appeals.

While demanding immediate action on their plight, the aggrieved students, armed with various inscriptions such as ‘Health Tech With Poor Environment’, ‘Stop Extortion Now’, ‘We Are Tired of This Wickedness’ and ‘No Solution, No Exams’, barricaded the school gate, preventing officials of the institution from gaining entrance.

The students, who set bonfires and chanted a series of solidarity songs, vowed that there would be no lectures or examinations until the management addressed the deteriorating conditions of classrooms, hostels, and laboratories, as well as the lack of a reliable water supply on campus.

Some of the students also accused the institution’s management of imposing unnecessary charges amid poor facilities, adding that their continued appeals over the matter had been ignored.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, a student, Adeola Ibiroke, lamented that students had endured years of hardship due to the lack of potable water, a poor internal road network, an epileptic power supply, and other essential facilities.

Ibiroke alleged that, despite the country’s harsh economic situation, the institution’s management had continued to impose what she described as unnecessary levies on students.
“As I speak with you, there are no basic amenities in this college. There is no water or steady electricity. The classrooms are dilapidated, there are no functional laboratories and no hostels, yet the management keeps demanding money from us without considering our struggling parents.
“The management has turned this school into a money-making machine. They even encourage some lecturers who demand money for textbooks and assignments,” she said.

Ms Ibiroke added, “We have made several efforts to engage the management through our representatives, but we were repeatedly shut down. That is why we decided to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ This protest is long overdue.”

Speaking on the situation, the college’s Rector, Oluwole Oluwanbe, refuted the allegations but assured that the government will intervene.