Current and ex-students of the Nasarawa State
Polytechnic, Lafia, on Wednesday protested against the non-accreditation of all
courses run by the institution.
The students who were in their thousands barricaded
Lafia/Akwanga highway, carrying with them placards with different inscriptions
that read: ‘No Course Is Accredited’, ‘We Are Tired of Stories’, ‘Our Certificates
Are Not Recognised’, among others.
Speaking to journalists during the protest,
spokesman of the protesting students, Umar Abdullahi, alleged that the management
has been collecting N2, 000 per student for accreditation of the institution's
courses since 2013 whereas no single course has been accredited so far.
He said: "All courses in the institution have
lost accreditation since 2013 and the government through the management was not
making any effort towards that.
"Those who graduated from the institution find
it difficult to get admission or employment because the certificates are not
recognised."
However, it took the intervention of the Permanent
Secretary of the state Ministry of Education, Abdullahi Agwai, and security
personnel to calm the protesters.
When contacted on phone for reaction, the acting Rector
of the polytechnic, Augustine Ali-Gabu, could neither return calls nor reply
text messages sent to him.
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