Students/military faceoff: Those arrested are not all ours — TASUED VC

THE acting Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, TASUED, Ijagun, Ijebu Ode, Professor Oluwole Banjo, has said that not all the students involved in a recent face-off with some military personnel in Ijebu Ode are students of his school.

He said he has visited the military base in Abeokuta, Ogun State to clarify the identities of the affected students and found out that most of them are not from TASUED.

He said this while speaking on activities lined up for the 12th convocation ceremony of the school.

Banjo explained further that those picked up by the military and found to be involved in dubious financial activities had been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for further investigation.

Some people, said to be mostly students, had an altercation with some military men on routine military exercise in the town.

The VC said: “Though the event happened in town, we have learned some lessons and taken appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence. For instance, now, access to the campus has been restricted and we have beefed up our security system. We have also intensified the enforcement of some moral requirements.

“We are the first education university in Nigeria, the second in Africa, and the eighth in the world and we have our reputation to protect. Our students are trained not only in academic but in character as they are the ones to mould future generations.”

On the calls in some quarters that tuition fees being paid in public tertiary institutions be jerked up, Banjo noted that apart from the fact that the government is being sensitive to the socio-economic situations in the country, the appreciable results being recorded by interventionist agencies in the sector are bridging certain gaps.

While commending the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, he said: “The TETFund has been the saving grace of higher institutions in Nigeria and we must appreciate their contributions which have cut across all levels and not minding whether a school is owned by the federal or a state government.

“Without their support, many institutions would have been in great jeopardy. We must also be grateful to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which agitation led to the birth of the Education Tax Fund that transformed into TETFund.”

Culled from Vanguard