Kebbi State Government on Thursday announced the closure of the College of Health Technology, Jega following students’ demonstration in the school.
The Commissioner for Higher Education in the state, Hon. Isah Abubakar-Tunga disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the development in Birnin Kebbi.
He said the action became imperative because if the demonstration continue, it might regenerate tension and escalate to an uncontrollable stage.
Abubakar-Tunga therefore, advised all the students to vacate the college immediately.
The commissioner said the ravaging students who were supposed to start the examination next week were angry.
“Their main target is the Provost, they burnt his house and completely vandalized his car. When we visited the college, we only met the Registrar in the school but the Divisional Police Office (DPO) of the area has taken the provost to the police station to rescue his life.
“If not because of the intervention of the DPO, the students would have lynched him,” he said.
He, however, lauded the efforts of Sarkin Jega, who used his position to calm the situation down.
In an attempt to further calm the situation and identify the root cause of the problem, the commissioner’s entourage requested the rampaging students to select and present ten people for dialogue.
While deliberating with the students’ representatives, Abubakar-Tunga said the students outlined some of their grievances including; the lack of accreditation of some courses of the college.
“The students said the courses of the college have only state recognition not federal, meaning, after graduation, they will be entitled to ordinary diplomas, not national diploma certificates.”
According to him, others are a lack of toilets and potable water, poor sanitary environment, and bad leadership among others.
The commissioner promised to constitute a committee to investigate the main cause of the riot and the extent of damages, assuring that whoever was found guilty, a student or a teacher would face the wrath of the law regardless of his position.
He said the college would remain closed for three weeks to one month, assuring that every student resuming must come with his parent and must write an undertaking.
“In this undertaking, every student must promise that he/she will be disciplined, be of good character, and accept to pay for anything vandalized by the students,” he said.
