Aggrieved students of the University of Abuja on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly to express their displeasure with the plan to transfer them to Federal University of Technology Minna, University of Ilorin, ATBU, Modibbo University Adamawa and Federal University of Technology Akure to complete their studies.
They also condemned the decision of the management of the university to recall of some graduated students from the Engineering departments included in the list of students to be posted to other varsities.
Some of the placards displayed by the students read: “3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Years in UniAbuja and still futureless,” “University of Abuja VC is a liar,” “Give us our future,” “Don’t transfer us to Boko Haram states,” “We are not going to Boko Haram states,” “Give us a level playing ground,” “We reject any transfer without our consent,” “Is Nigeria too poor to have engineering in the FCT,” and “We have the right to make our choice of University.”
Nnemeka Nchenna, spokesman of the group, explained that the protest was necessitated by the non-accreditation of the Engineering course. Others courses awaiting accreditation include Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
“We have been protesting since last April concerning the non-accreditation but the response from Education minister at the meeting held with National Assembly members was that they’ve concluded modalities for transfer engineering students to six other universities,” Nchenna said.
“At the meeting, it was categorically stated by the minister that the decision requires the approval of the Students and parents, but as at yesterday it was announced by the NUC Task Team director, Chinedu Mofiana that they’ve concluded the transfer to the identified schools.”
He further explained that the already-graduated students and present 500 level students will be going to Minna for one-year rigorous practicals while 300 and 400 students will be transferred to the five other universities as against the initial pronouncement.
“The VC lied that the students have accepted without holding any meeting with the students. We are aggrieved because we have issues on the conditions that affect us. So there was no round table discussion with the students.
“We, the students, are not outright against it but we have to meet the management to express our minds, because at present it’s like we were thrown out of the school like vagabond.
The 400 level who have finished their IT and preparing to go to 500 level will have to be demoted to 300 level while some at remedial will be wielded out of the Engineering and sent to other departments in the school.”
He lamented also that the year is too long for thermodynamics practical which the NUC claims that the school lacks.
