National Film Institute Students Protest Over Withheld Results, Sacking Of Qualified Lecturers
Yakubu Busari
The students of National Film Institute Jos have accused the Managing Director, Mr Danjuma Dadu of squandering funds meant for the payment of lecturers leading to the withholding of students results by University of Jos.
The students union government said their protest was to demand for the return of those sacked lecturers and also the release of their semester results.
They said the appropriate authority should do the needful and ensure them that the aggrieved lecturers will receive their salary and resume work.
The Union blamed management for allowing indefinite suspension of academic activities of the school by the Managing Director Mr. Danjuma Dadu.
The NFI which was established in 1995 and affiliated to University of Jos for the award of degree in connection with an institution in the Netherlands .
Spokesman of the students Agbo Kelly a 400 student expressed sadness that the Managing Director had refused to listen to their complaints when he was invited for close door meeting.
According to him, they had held several meetings to resolve their differences with the Managing Director on the issue of their results and the graduates who couldn’t go for NYSC but all to no avail.
The protesters also accused Mr. Danjuma Dadu of paying 12 million naira to cleaners and cannot afford to pay N3 million to the lecturers which seven students’ fees can upset the said request.
He complained that since they graduated three years ago their results have been withheld by the National Film Institute.
Mr Ayo Donaldlove who is a graduate of the institute said, this is issue of our future when the MD can pay those that are cleaners, while claiming that no money or he cannot afford to settle lecturer.
“We are appealing to federal government to intervene and pay GST lecturers, we paid 8,000 fees for SUG to the management yet the director refused to allow us to form Students union government, “he explained.
Donaldlove lamented the attitude of the Managing Director toward the students that he resorted to unnecessary violence to scare the students’ way from coming.
We still want him to understand that education is bedrock of development.
He condemned a situation where qualified staffs are being sack to recruit those who don’t have the prerequisite requirements to lecture in the NFI.
Miss Bisi Abashi also stated that they are worried when the approached him to consider their plight as students, he turned a deaf ear to their request.
The protesters were with difference inscriptions, such Mr Dadu, we need to see our results, Dadu a dictator, Dadu we want our results, Dadu why did you shut down our institution.
She lamented that they students don’t have hostels again since they lost three of their colleagues in a tragic water chemical that killed several people.
