Students, Parents Protest As Delta State Higher Institutions Impose COVID-19 Fees On Undergraduates

Students of Delta State tertiary institutions and their parents have protested over the imposition of compulsory N10,000 fee on them by their schools’ authorities.

The institutions had asked students to pay the fee tagged ‘upgrade of COVID-19 facilities’.

At the Delta State University, Abraka, returning undergraduate and diploma students for the 2019/2020 academic session are to compulsorily pay N5,000 each while postgraduate students are to pay N10,000 each.

SaharaReporters gathered that the payment, which applied to the three campuses of the institution, Oleh, Abraka and Anwai, must be paid before students are allowed for academic activities.

A bulletin by the institution’s management dated Monday, October 5, 2020, reads, “All returning postgraduate and undergraduate students of the Delta State University are required to take the following steps in order to revalidate their registration for the 2019/2020 academic session.

“This is to enable management plan for the health and safety of the students in the use of lecture halls and ensure proper precautionary measures are taken in the allocation of students in the halls for the second semester examination in line with the Federal Ministry of Education and NCDC COVID-19 guidelines.

“The steps are: payment of COVID-19 facilities upgrade charge of N5,000 by all returning undergraduate and diploma students and N10,000 only for all postgraduate students.”

At the Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state, the story is not different as students have also been directed by the institution’s management to pay N5,000 as COVID-19 fees.

Meanwhile, students and parents have protested against the COVID-19 charges, describing the payment as “extortion of the highest order” by the state government in connivance with the institutions.

In a statement by the National Association of Delta State Students signed by its National President, Godwin Saturday, students were warned against the payment of the fee.

The statement reads, “We have consulted with all critical stakeholders and sister organisations on this issue and we vehemently say no to this extortion.

“We want to inform the students that we are prepared to resist the wickedness by all legal means possible and modalities are already in top gear to ensure our students are saved from this extortion.”