86 Bauchi Students Risk Expulsion From Igbinedion University As Govt Abruptly Cuts Off Sponsorship
Eighty-six students of Bauchi origin who are on state
government scholarship at Igbinedion University, Edo
State, risked being sent out from the university due to
Bauchi government’s inability to pay their fees.
Sixty-four of the 86 students are studying medicine
and medical-related courses such as pharmacy,
nursing, medical laboratory sciences, and microbiology.
The scholarship programe was initiated by the past
administration of Isa Yuguda, PREMIUM TIMES
gathered.
The affected students, in an email sent to PREMIUM
TIMES, said the university management informed them
that the school was tired of their indebtedness, and
might no longer allow them to continue attending
lectures.
“We have been subjected to all kinds of humiliation,
embarrassment and psychological trauma because
every day we are being told we are defaulters who are
reaping from the tuitions paid by other students
especially those not under any scholarship,” the
students said in the mail sent on their behalf by one
Aliyu Musa.
Although the scholarship programme covers their
welfare as well, the students said they resorted to
begging on campus for survival, since they had not
received upkeep allowance for two years now from the
Bauchi government.
“Please we need help. We want Nigerians to help us
beg Bauchi state government to pity our conditions
and save us from being pushed out of the campus,
and also save our future,” the students pleaded.
The Registrar, Igbinedion University, Eddy Okoro,
confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the affected
students had not paid their tuition fees for three years
now.
Mr. Okoro said, “For God sake, this is a private
university and not a charity organization.”
The university may soon take the “ultimate option” of
sending the students away from the campus, the
registrar said.
He said the school had approached the Bauchi
government several times on the issue, without getting
any positive response.
“It is not a normal thing to allow students seat for
examinations without paying their fees. But we gave
that consideration to the state government’s
candidates because they are from corporate outfits.
“Our private students are not allowed to write
examinations when they don’t pay their fees. We have
students from the federal government amnesty
programme, they pay.
“Of course you can’t treat corporate clients like you
treat the private students; a government is a
government. But on this case, the government has just
refused to act; nobody is talking to you despite several
entreaties to them.”
Usman Abdulwahab, 21 years old pharmacy student,
ranked as the overall best student in the university,
will be among those to withdraw from studies, when
the university eventually decides to shut its door
against the affected students.
The school registrar, Mr. Okoro, who confirmed Mr.
Abdulwahab’s excellence academic performance to
this newspaper, said the scholarship programme
wasn’t a bad investment at all for the Bauchi
government.
“The students are really doing well,” Mr. Okoro said.
Besides Mr. Abdulwahab who the registrar said is
classified as a scholar, the other Bauchi students have
also excelled in their respective classes.
One of them, a female sophomore student of medicine,
Rahmat Minka’el, tops her class as overall best.
Also, 16 of the students have so far made it to the
First Class level, while many of them are within the
Second Class Upper region.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Permanent
Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of Education, Nasiru
Yalwa, he said the problem was inherited from the
former administration of Mr. Yuguda.
Mr. Yalwa explained the effort the government was
making to settle the problem.
“Last time, about two months ago, the officials of the
Igbinedion University came to Bauchi and we
discussed with them and my Honorable Commissioner,
and since then we have processed the case, and we
are just waiting for the release of the fund which I
believe will be very soon,” he said.
