The Senate, in an emergency meeting on Friday, 28th September, 2023 reviewed its earlier directive suspending academic activities, a directive which was occasioned by protest over the increase in tuition fees leading to the locking of the campus gate.
The Senate of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has directed the resumption of full academic activities in the University with immediate effect.
The Senate, in an emergency meeting on Friday, 28th September, 2023 reviewed its earlier directive suspending academic activities, a directive which was occasioned by protest over the increase in tuition fees leading to the locking of the campus gate.
“The suspension of academic activities was a preemptive measure by the Senate to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
“As part of its decision at the emergency meeting, the Senate considered and approved a revised academic calendar for the 2022/2023 academic session.
“The Senate therefore directs that students return to the halls of residence on Sunday 1st October, 2023, while lectures are scheduled to commence on Tuesday, 3rd of October, 2023,” a release said.
The statement issued by the University's Acting Registrar, Ambrose E. Odiase enjoined the students to be law abiding upon their return to the campus.
SaharaReporters had on September 13 reported that the AAU authorities deployed armed policemen at the university’s gate to allegedly intimidate the students’ leaders and dissuade them from embarking on protests on the hike in tuition fees.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the university authorities also concluded plans to rusticate 16 members of the students' union leadership in the school for leading a protest against the hike in tuition fees.
SaharaReporters had obtained one of the pages of the letter showing a list of the affected students' union leaders which was also copied to the university’s Vice Chancellor, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellors – Academic and Administration – among other top university officials.
Sources had also told SaharaReporters that the management had also reached out to the parents of the affected students' union leaders and were using the Department of State Services (DSS) to threaten them.
“The DSS extracted the biodata of the students and called their parents, asking them to caution their children to withdraw from this struggle and stop asking the management to reverse the school fees. The DSS did that on Sunday,” one of the sources had said.