Tension erupted on Monday at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, as angry students staged a massive protest against the institution’s management, accusing the Rector of gross maltreatment and deliberate sabotage of their future by allegedly barring them from participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The visibly frustrated students, who carried placards and chanted solidarity songs, said their dreams of serving the nation were being shattered because the school management failed to meet the mobilisation requirements set by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
According to them, JAMB had demanded the proper documentation and disclosure of the total number of part-time students, including those it classified as “illegal.” However, they alleged that the Rector flatly refused to comply, leaving scores of graduates stranded while their contemporaries from other institutions had already been deployed for service.
One of the protesting students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the situation as “a calculated attempt to destroy our careers.”
> “We cannot go for NYSC because the school management deliberately ignored JAMB’s directives. Instead of resolving this matter, the Rector continues to recruit new staff, yet demands NYSC discharge certificates as part of the employment requirements. This is injustice of the highest order,” the student lamented.
The protesters argued that while their right to national service is being trampled upon, the school has been busy conducting fresh recruitment exercises across various departments—ironically insisting that only candidates with NYSC discharge certificates would be considered.
This, they said, smacks of hypocrisy and further underscores the management’s indifference to their plight.
The students accused the Rector of paying lip service to their concerns despite repeated appeals and vowed to sustain their demonstrations until the school management takes decisive steps to forward their names to JAMB for clearance and subsequent NYSC mobilisation.
> “We are stranded and helpless while our mates from other schools are already serving the nation. We will not fold our arms and watch our future be toyed with,” another protester declared.
The protest caused gridlock around the school’s main gate, drawing the attention of security operatives and members of the public. Meanwhile, the institution’s management has yet to issue an official response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
PIONEER NEWS 