Yaounde: Students of Health Sciences Academy threaten to protest over exploitation by school authorities

By Tata Mbunwe

Students of the Academy of Health Sciences in Yaounde, known by its French acronym as ASSA, are threatening to embark on a strike over financial exploitation by the school’s administration.

Students have told Mimi Mefo Info that the school’s authorities have charged them to pay a compulsory fee of FCFA 52,000 before they can graduate this February 26, although they had already paid tuition fees.

This additional fee is out of government’s FCFA 400,000 tuition fee but which the school administration had told them to pay 500,000, explained one of the students.

On their part, the school authorities say the additional FCFA 52,000 will serve three purposes: FCFA 25,000 is for a missing microscope at the school’s teaching laboratory, while FCFA 25,000 will be for the award of their diplomas, and 2,000 for the CAP exams.

However students have told MMI they need not pay for their diplomas again after paying a huge school fee of FCFA 500,000.

Students also explained that they do not know about the microscope they are being charged to pay FCFA 25,000 for.

Most of these students are supposed to graduate this February 26 as assistant medical laboratory technicians from the bilingual academy at Mvogbeti, Yaounde.
The students say they have been defrauded by the academy’s director who has failed in her promise to refund the additional FCFA 100,000 added to the school fee.