Many students of the University of Jos (UniJos) took to the university’s main campus on Monday, April 15, to protest what they described as poor health and hostel facilities and understaffing at their school clinic.
As seen in videos shared, the students climbed the school gate that was shut down against some of the school staff, chanting protest songs and calling on the school management to meet their demands.
They protested the lack of drugs, proper medical equipment, poor toilets and leakage of their hostels despite the astronomical’ increase in their school.
The students also carried placards with different inscriptions, including “insufficient medical facilities in the school clinics, and yet school fees were increased.”
Sources who spoke said the protest was the second in two weeks, adding that Monday’s agitation was prompted by the deaths of two students who died in the school facilities, with one shortly after being taken to the Jos Teaching Hospital.
The protest garnered widespread attention, the state Social media platforms were flooded with messages of support for the students, with many expressing outrage over the avoidable loss of life and calling for systemic reforms in higher education institutions.
They said although the university management argued that the deaths were not a result of medical negligence and poor health facilities, they would not agree with such a claim.
“The school management rendered poor services to us, which has left our hostel accommodations in bad shape.
For example, the Abuja hostel, which formed largely part of today’s protest, is leaking from the roof, has blocked and broken soakaway, and sewage is floating around the hostel, polluting the environment.
“We do not have adequate water and light in the hostel. Our school clinic is poorly equipped. This was why management opted to increase our school charges from 45,000 naira to one between N105,000 and N135,000.
At the time of filing this report, efforts by this online platform correspondent to speak to the head of information of the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi proved abortive as he did not pick calls or text messages sent to his phone.
