Hostel fee hike: Poly students sleep in mosques

Some students of Jigawa State Polytechnic, Dutse have allegedly been sleeping in the institution’s mosque and operating off-campus system following a hike in the institution’ s hostel fee.
A student, Malam Yusufel Idris, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse on Friday that the initial fee for hostel accommodation per student was N3,000, but was jerked up to N5,000 by the institution’s authorities.
Idris said that all efforts made by the affected students to persuade the school’s authorities to review the increment down ward, was unsuccessful.
Another student, Malam Kabiru Musa, said that with the new increment in hostel accommodation, some of them were left with the option of sleeping in the school’s mosque or outside the campus.
Kabiru said: “This is the naked truth I am telling you.”
When contacted, the institution’s Director of Administration and Academic Planning, Dr. Mohammad Ibrahim, said the school authorities was not aware that some of its students were sleeping in the mosque.
Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of the Rector, Prof. Garba Goje, confirmed that the school had actually increased fees, including the hostel accommodation, because it wanted to do general renovations.
He said in view of the increase in the costs of building and other materials in the market, “we don’t have any option than to increase our fees to solve the problems”.
NAN.