Some Ph.D. students of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bamenda in the North West Region have criticized the expenditures they are being compelled to make for their project defense sessions.
It has been made customary at the University of Bamenda, just like at the University of Buea for Ph.D. students to buy food and drinks for lecturers before they can succeed. The students are expected to provide the necessary refreshments for the members of the jury.
These expenditures, students complain, are too expensive and have taken a serious financial toll on them.
Students argue that “we believe it is the responsibility of our lecturers to evaluate us and see us through our academic career after we must have paid our fees.”
Moreover, at UBa, students say that they’ve been made to spend exorbitant amounts on proposal defense sessions, often organized by lecturers.
In each of these defense sessions which come up after every 3 months, students involved are expected to contribute an amount of 100,000FCFA to cook and provide refreshments for the jury.
To the students, they have no obligation to feed the members of their jury during proposal defense sessions as is the case at the University of Bamenda.
The students say such a rule cannot be backed up by the lecturers who insist on it being done. The students have reiterated that they “deserve a better treatment than being exploited to this extent.”
