Professor Moses Kembe Following the directive by Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom for the immediate withdrawal of conditional charges introduced by the management of Benue State University, The Vice Chancellor, Professor Moses Kembe has apologised to the people of the state over the heat the arbitrary increment generated in the last weeks.
Professor Kembe who spoke when he and the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Dennis Tyavyar, appeared before the State House of Assembly today explained that the hike in conditional charges was borne out of the desire to meet the growing challenge of the University, to enable it survive, but said the institution had since reverted to the old rates as directed by the Governor.
Members of the House praised Governor Ortom’s decision to revert to the old rates and directed management of the University to make refunds to all students that might have paid the increment without delay.
The majority leader of the house, Hon Benjamin Adanyi added that what was needed to address problems of the University was prudent utilisation of Internally Generated Revenue, accountability and blockage of all forms of revenue leakages through proper record keeping and not hiking conditional charges, warning that no amount of increment will be permitted in the face of economic hardship.
Other members charged the management to keep to the core mandate of the University and not to allow their zeal to make a name undermine the overriding public interest.
They also urged the management to indulge in wide consultation and sensitization before taking decisions to avoid creating tension that will affect the growth of the educational sector.
Ruling, Speaker of the House, Hon. Terkimbi Ikyange also praise the Governor for his intervention and thanked the lawmakers for their quick response to the cry of the public which had yielded positive results.
He promised strict monitoring by the House to ensure that students who had already paid the increment are refunded without delay.
This is a welcomed development especially where a state is predominantly occupied by manual farmers and little civil servants who are underpaid
ReplyDeleteAnother appeal from my end is for the government of Benue state to check the excesses of landlords who impose two year payment of rent on not only students but those living around the University community and if possible Makurdi in general
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