University of Bamenda: FED students threaten strike action over exorbitant fees

Postgraduate students of the Faculty of Education at the University of Bamenda are currently planning strike action over exorbitant fees.

They are said to be planning a protest over what they have termed “academic ambush” by the university authorities.

“Prior to our admission into the faculty of education, we were informed that we would pay tuition of 500.000 for masters and 700,000 for Ph.D. for the first year and just the normal university registration fees for the subsequent years in our respective programs of study by the former Dean Prof Titanji Peter Fon,” narrated one of the disgruntled students.

He went on: “It was for this reason that we decided to enroll in the so-called ‘PAID academic’ masters and Ph.D. programs in the first place, with the knowledge that our financial dismays were only going to last for one academic year.”

However, the arrival of the new Dean prof Agborbechem Tambi turned everything around, “… as he attempted to reverse the orders of the former Dean, on grounds that he did not meet any signed decision on his desk wavering tuition fee payment for year 2 masters and year 2 and 3 Ph.D.,” our source added.

In this light, students are forced to pay exorbitant fees every academic year during their stay in the various programs.

“The students have found this absurd and abrupt and have decided to plan a protest against the faculty and university authorities to protest against this absurdity.”

Despite ongoing measures being undertaken by the faculty of education authorities to suppress the upcoming strike action by the postgraduate students such as; the organization of a virtual zoom meeting regrouping class coordinators to discuss their grievances, some students say the discussions were cosmetic and lacked real intent to salvage their plight.

In the meantime, the students continue to find their grievances preoccupying and feel that only a strike action can help their cause.

“Among our grievances is the fact that, students were told that professionals were going to be hired both nationally and from abroad to train them yet the programs continue to lack professional depth, thus creating the semblance of financial exploitation by the university authorities.”

“Again, the students sometimes write exams and the results take forever to be published. Some students complain that they tend to spend double the time frame allocated for the completion of their masters and Ph.D. programs due to bottlenecks” added another.

According to these students, many may, unfortunately, drop out of their academic programs if the exorbitant fees are maintained for year 2 masters and years 2 and 3 Ph.D.

There are equally fears that if the faculty and the university authorities do not find lasting solutions to the plethora of grievances faced by the postgraduate students of the faculty of education, the unfortunate may escalate in the days ahead.

By Amina Hilda


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