The Management of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Ogun State, is set to increase all fees payable by students.
According to DAILY POST, this became inevitable following the financial mess the polytechnic has plunged into, leading to its inability to pay wages.
On Thursday, October 5, MAPOLY workers commenced an indefinite strike due to unpaid three months salaries and other allowances.
The spokesperson of the polytechnic, Yemi Ajibola, told DAILY POST that the polytechnic could not pay the wages because “there is no money.”
According to Ajibola, the polytechnic became broke after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) started ‘dictating’ the number of students the polytechnic could admit for both Full Time and Part Time.
Ajibola said MAPOLY, which used to admit students in excess of 10,000, can now admit a paltry 4,000 students at all levels.
A top official of the polytechnic, who did not want to be mentioned, said the management had communicated the need for an increase in fees to Governor Dapo Abiodun, whose approval is now being awaited.
“Once Governor Abiodun gives his nod for an increase in fees, the new amount would be announced to all students,” the source disclosed.
On Monday and Tuesday, MAPOLY students took to the streets of Abeokuta to protest the increase in the Acceptance Fee from N25,000 to N35,000, calling on the Governor to intervene.
At the moment, the students are casting aspersions on the Rector, Dr Adeoye Odedeji, blaming him for the way things have turned out in the polytechnic.
The various unions have also passed a vote of no confidence on the Rector, describing him as the architect of the predicaments that have befallen the once self-sufficient citadel of learning.
It could be recalled that in 2016, former Governor Ibikunle Amosun described MAPOLY as one institution that would not wait for government subventions before taking care of its financial obligations, including infrastructural development.
In response to claims that the Rector be blamed for the current state of the polytechnic, the PRO disagreed, asking what he would have done when there was no money.
He said: “They (the workers) have access to the polytechnic’s account. They are aware there is no money. How do they want the Rector or the management or the Bursar to get money to pay salaries?
“We are owed three months salaries, but the unions have access to the account of the polytechnic. So they cannot pass a vote of no confidence.”
Our correspondent gathered that the polytechnic once took loans from banks to pay salaries when things got to its climax in 2021, but it appears the Rector does not want to tread that path anymore.
In seeking a permanent solution to the financial challenges in MAPOLY, management is set to jack up all fees, which are yet to be reviewed since over a decade ago.
The source stated: “The management has constituted a committee to look into the school fees payable by students because that is the major source of revenue for the polytechnic. That has been done and the recommendation has been submitted to the governor for consideration and approval. So, we are waiting.
“The only thing that can settle all these problems is to have enough funds, and that can only be done by increasing the school fees. If a student is paying N50,000 per session in this country that we are, what do we do with that in this economy?
“JAMB has reduced the number of students we can admit per session. This is the cause of this paucity of funds and the only way out is to increase school fees.”
Our correspondent gathered that HND students may pay up to N100,000 or more, should the governor approve the new tuition proposal.
Ogun government in dilemma
DAILY POST gathered that the Ogun State Government is in dilemma over whether or not to approve the proposed increase in fees payable by students of the foremost Ogun Polytechnic.
Source said that the Governor is not pleased with the fact that parents, who are still battling with the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, would have to struggle again with a hike in school fees.
The Governor is also considering the fact that many indigent students might drop out of the polytechnic if he gives his nod to the new fees recommended by the management, a government source said.
Likewise, Abiodun is not ready to continue having aggrieved students on the streets in protest to the new school fees.
Meanwhile, concerned parents have cried to Gov Abiodun not to approve the proposal to hike school fees, especially at a time the economy is biting harder.
It is left to be seen what would become the decision of the State Government.
