Students from the College of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology’s (LAUTECH) Iseyin campus took to the streets on Monday to express their frustration with the school management.
At the centre of their grievances is the unavailability of essential facilities needed for their practical work, despite each student paying approximately N50,000 for farm equipment and other necessary materials.
SaharaReporters gathered that the protest was started by 400-level students of the institution who stormed the street to express their grievances, accusing the school of taking them for granted.
One of the students, a female who preferred not to disclose her identity, said, “There was a protest today, it was started by 400-level students while other students joined.
“At 400-level, they used to do farming which they were supposed to have started during the first semester and our first semester started on November 11, 2024. All the registration they did, farm equipment, and other things they bought was about N50,000.
“They did not work for up to a week, they only cut weeds and cleared the land and they told them to go home. In fact, they vacated earlier than us and the management told them that they would resume January 13th this year.
“So when they resumed, they were asked to start making heaps/ridges and did not give them anything until this morning again that they asked them to plant vegetables. That was when everybody flared up asking what they have been paying for.
“They (the management) said they should pay another N10,000 for IT. Meanwhile, they are paying money but are not being properly attended to, and we are just planting vegetables. There is a lot here. We don’t have any care at all.”
Another aggrieved female student said, “They messed up. You need to see our way of living in this Iseyin. I had a crisis today, no hospital. We don’t have any hospital in the school. The Provost came, the Dean came, even the Baale of Iseyin came.
“The police came, they did not listen. The students insisted if by Friday nothing changes, they would start the protest again. Sincerely, it is not making sense. You need to see the distance that students come from every day to get to school, yet, lecturers will not come.”
Also, another student said, “They didn’t make any preparations. They didn’t make anything. There is no future plan for us. Even if we are at Ogbomoso working back to back in our class, we don’t have a public address system.
“I don’t like this for real. I don’t like our way of living here at all. The first time we did an exam, if you see the number of students that fainted, not less than 12. We need practical work. That is the backbone of agriculture.”
Another affected student who lamented that their condition has become unbearable, said, “We are already in the 400-level when we are to be exposed to practical in various fields, livestock production especially, but the campus lacks all these facilities.
“No poultry farm, no piggery, no sheep and goat, we have no farms and other resources which are inevitable for our studies, whereas all these things are in the main campus in Ogbomoso, lying fallow.
“It doesn’t add up, it does not make sense at all. How can we call ourselves Agric graduates when we have not undergone practical aspects germane to our studies?”
The aggrieved students further lamented high costs of accommodation and transportation, noting that the campus is far from the main town and to transport themselves to school every day is very expensive.
One of the students said, “Houses are not in the area and the ones in town are on the high side in terms of prices. Added to that is that our lecturers are not always on the ground to teach us. It is not easy for us to be shuttling between Ogbomoso and Iseyin.”
Another student lamented that the school management has truncated their studies, saying, “We fought against the relocation when it was raised but the government and the management insisted we move.
“These are the concerns we raised but no one listened to us. We now face the prospect of being called half-baked graduates, when we have facilities wasting away somewhere. It doesn’t stand a reason.”
Another student said, “They are not taking our farm year seriously. We are just wasting money every day on transport without doing anything. No preparation for us, no plans.
“Unnecessary billings and payments. Hostel price increase, lies upon lies about changes. Indigene harassment and constant robbery. 300-level and 200-level have also joined. One manual costs N6,000 to N8,000.
“No proper lectures. One lecturer will just come one day just to cover seven chapters. At times, the whole manual.”
In 2023, the students who were then in 200-level were relocated from the main campus in Ogbomoso to the newly built campus in Iseyin.
Though the relocation was resisted by the lecturers, the affected students and the people of Ogbomoso, Governor Seyi Makinde-led government did not listen to them, rather, the state government insisted the students be relocated to the new campus.
