Students protest, block entrance into Plateau nursing school

By Muhammad Tanko Shittu

Jos

Medical and Health students of the Plateau State School of Nursing and that of Federal College of Laboratory Science yesterday protested against incessant power outrage in the schools.
The students, who in the early hours yesterday blocked the entrances of the schools situated at the former Jos University Teaching Hospital, said they had been left in darkness for four weeks.
Some of the students, who spoke to our correspondent, said: “We are paying returning fees of N 5, 000; we buy markers with our money; we pay departmental fee of N 25, 000, apart from the school fees and yet we spent four weeks without electricity.”
“We pay our hospital bills, whenever we felt seek; they don’t have consideration on us at all.”
According to the protesting students, since there is no electricity, they find it very difficult to read even as they hardly get water for use.
“Since there was no light there is no how we can even operates some of the equipment in the laboratory, we can’t read except we use our handsets and it means we can’t even get water to use.”
However, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mr. Gwatau Habila, who was at the schools, told the students after inspections that urgent measures would be taken to address their situations.
He said the Commissioner for Education was not aware of the problems, stressing that the present administration in the state “is a listening one.”
“You cannot proffer solution to something you do not know; that was why we took time to go round and look at it and we have actually understood the enormity of the issues that are confronting you,” he said.
He gave the assurance that the issues would be looked into according to order of priority.
“As for the issue of the light going forward from here we will meet with your officers and we will move straight to JEDCo, and see what can be done to restore it immediately.”

 

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