The Socialist Youth League (SYL) has strongly condemned the recent increase in school fees at Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, as well as the suspension of student activists who protested against the fee hike. In a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, the organisation described the college administration’s actions as an “affront on the rights of students” and declared that “the victimisation of student leaders shall not stand!”
According to the statement, the school management imposed a mandatory N20,000 fee on full-time students just 14 days before the commencement of semester exams. The Socialist Youth League criticised the lack of consultation with students and their representatives, particularly during a time of economic hardship when many students were still struggling to pay their first-semester fees.
The statement expressed disappointment in the Dean of Students Affairs, Mr. Bidemi Adeboye, for dismissing student leaders’ requests to extend the deadline for fee payment. The youth group also condemned the college’s decision to indefinitely suspend 18 student union executives and members of the Students’ Representative Council for protesting the fee hike.
Rejecting the administration’s justification that the protests threatened the academic calendar and campus order, the SYL refuted this claim as “a baseless argument to divert attention from the grave injustice that has been committed.” The statement emphasised that the protest was peaceful, with no reports of property destruction, and accused the college authorities of using “irrational fearmongering” to suppress student dissent.
The group linked the incident to a broader issue of education commercialisation, arguing that tertiary institutions in Nigeria have turned students into “the proverbial cash cow” due to inadequate public funding. It warned that treating education as a privilege rather than a social service undermines national development and vowed that “the commodification of public education must be resisted!”
Conclusively, the Socialist Youth League issued the following demands:
- The immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all suspended students.
- The retraction of the newly imposed fees for full-time students.
- An extension of the payment deadline for first-semester fees.
- Replacement of the DSA who has become an antithesis of his office responsibilities.
- A more inclusive decision-making process that engages with the student body in good faith.
The group called on students to continue resisting policies that undermine accessible education and affirmed its commitment to supporting the student movement in the fight against the commercialisation of public education.
