STUDENTS WEARY OVER TRANSPORTATION COST

Many students who attend public universities are indigents which always take days to get their school fee paid, most time they are always not able to meet up with the speculated date for payment which will make them still pay the late registration penalty which is almost half of the fee to pay. getting themselves ready for a new semester or session as the case maybe most times it always hard for them, for them to get materials they need for classes and maintaining themselves like other students who are from well to do background are always strenuous.

This can make them go for linear jobs around just to be able to meet up with the standard the society threw at them and be able to balance up, but with this many higher institution managements in the country don’t always take this to consideration in which they will just increase fee on campuses as they like and make life unbearable for the impoverished students who are trying to make a life for themselves at all course or should the impecunious students start dropping out of school because of this fanatical increments  

After resuming back to school from the 2 month strike of lecturers and that of fuel subsidy removal in federal university of technology Minna Niger State, where there are two campuses which are Bosso campus and Gidan Kwano campus, students were so surprised to discover that the transport fare of buses plying Bosso-Gidan Kwano route from the school bus park had increased from the normal #50 it used to be to #100. The bus which shuttles between the two campuses are been ran by FUTMIN consult and some private buses also which were approved by the school management.

With this it will now cost a student at least #200 to and fro daily which is on an alarming rate to the days that students will need just only #100, not forget that the feeding is expected. Students will now have to be constructive about their movement and want to only go to the other campus when they are sure that their lecture will hold. Nobody will want to just waste a whole lot of money like that getting to class and discover that the lecture which ought to hold will no longer hold.

 Students complained and had series of meetings with the FUTMIN consults officers under the leadership of the Students Union Government which they stood firmly to ensure that the student have the right to affordable transportation, which will led to the drop in the price to #80 for the main time while other meetings went on. But students were not still please with the removal of just #20, they want it to remain at #50 but was finally dropped to #70 at the end of it all.

 

Speaking with the SUG president Jefferson Akinsheye who was very disturbed about the issue said ‘he it is very alarming seeing that students have to use #200 on transportation everyday, it is not acceptable we students can’t compel with the increase. We had negotiated with the stakeholders involved, now that the price as been reduced to #70 I believe is on a better side for us. He also thanked the students for the sense of maturity, diligence and patience demonstrated during the hike in transport fare and they should all believe in his leadership and said welfarism for students is still his watchword’

Throughout the days that there was increase in the transport fare it was discover that the Dean Students Affairs Dr. Iyaka was trying his best to see that students were not embittered unjustly, and was trying his possible best to convince they school management to which he had to bring down the school’s Vice Chancellor Prof. M.S Audu to the bus park in bosso campus to see the situation of things for himself.

Speaking about the situation the VC said at the park that ‘he heard about the increment as a surprise, which he had told the officers in charge on phone to make things bearable for the students. He furthermore made his position on the situation known that he wants the fare to be #70 per passengers to make it suitable for students plying the route’.

Speaking also the Dean students Affairs said that ‘#70 is visible for students and the FUTMIN consults officers should run within the stethoscope, and if they are not okay by it should come to a dialogue and not just increasing the fare without proper considerations’. 

An officer of FUTMIN consult who spoke in anonymous said ‘we work under directives here, before the visit of the visit of the VC and SUG president we had release two vehicles which we took #100 from each passengers but immediately the directive came to us about the new price which was #80 we started charging at that. Not until again we saw the Vice Chancellor who gave the final order for #70. He furthermore explained why there was increment in the price saying it’s all over the country and though the subsidy was on petroleum and the school buses run on diesel, to run maintance will be cost effective because there will also be increment on the price of spare parts and other things that will be used in maintaining the buses’

As at the time of filing in this report all process to contact the director of FUTMIN consult proved abortive and he was not even in town while all the process and the unscheduled visit of the VC to the park took place.

After the visit of the VC to the park, one of the private buses shuttling the route which had earlier collected #80 was made to return #10 to the passengers by the SUG president.

Getting the reactions of the students who Mohammed Nura of Library and Information Technology spoke in pidgin said ‘the amount wey dem they collect before no just pay boys at all, na just this #70 wey dem just dey talk still dey manageable.i just dey pay the money unto say I better things to do for Gidan Kwano and I no won go there late’

Sola Oladoja a 500 level student and the chief of Kegite club of the school said ‘the increment in the transportation is not what we need and we should all know what brought about it was the fuel subsidy removal. He further said that the cost of maintaining them will be high now. He pleaded with the students to accept the #70 and move on with their academic activities in good faith’

Alisu Abdulkadri a student of Quantity Surveying Department felt very bad about it stating that many of the students have to hustle now to be able to pay for their transport now and it will really tell on them when they start missing lectures and test all in the name of not having money’

Speaking with a student in anonymous said most of the school buses run on diesel expect few of them that runs on petrol, the 18 seater buses uses petrol to and fro of this 18 seater buses cant not consume more than 7 liters per trip.