LACK OF BASIC AMENITIES FRUSTRATES NAU STUDENTS

Benjamin Nwude, Awka

Some students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) have voiced out their frustrations with the lack of basic social amenities that are meant to ease their academic pursuit.

The students while interacting with Correspondent Benjamin Nwude on their experiences on campus, particularly regretted that the school management does not consider the current harsh economic realities in the country in fixing prices for various activities.

This, according to them, has been aggravated by high cost of renting hostel accommodation, high cost of transportation, security challenge and inhabitable classrooms which make effective teaching and learning almost impossible.

Okoli Somto Kingsley, a 300level student in the Department of Mathematics, was unhappy with the unfair distribution of power to his lodge around Ifite, where a greater percentage of UNIZIK students reside.

“There are two transformers and the transmission of power is divided between two parts of Ifite, popular call up school and down school, where I currently resides”.

“I have seen a time I had to go for lectures without taking my bath because there was no light to pump water. We will appreciate it if relevant authorities will help to put an end to such a ugly experience. It is affecting academic performances of students,” he decried.

Commenting on the situation, a 100level student of Mass Communication, Onuh Chiamaka, shared her experience within the school hostel, blamed their problems on certain corrupt tendencies. “On some occasions, the man in charge of pumping water would just refuse to pump. We need to like bribe some time to get him pump the water”.

“The situation is the same with those manning the generator. We don’t have it when the hostellers mostly need it. At least in a students’ hostel, there should be a standby generator to power our rooms at night when there is no supply from the national grid”.

For Iheme Gift Chizoba, a 200 level student of English Language and Literature, the greatest displeasure is the congestion of the classrooms. “On many occasions, 200 level students will be forced into a 100-capacity class room. When we have joint lectures with other students, many of us will be compelled to hand around the widows or stand somewhere around to take the lectures sometimes for two hours”.

Also of worry to her is the recent hike in transportation fare. When I got admission here, the cost of transportation was N50. Sadly, we now pay N150 per drop inside school. We are not coping well. Many of us are forced to trek long distances to and fro our lodges”.

“For the past 2 to 3 weeks, the power supply has been very poor and we cannot read at night though we are preparing for examinations,” she regretted.

Gift’s course mate, Eberechi Loveday, is disenchanted with the unimpressive attitude of some of the lecturers, some of whom don’t attend to their classes as and when due. “Sometimes, the lecturers would attend classes but would not exhaust the time allocated to them. They stay in the classroom for a short while and go. It discourages some students.

The lecture halls he also noted is not conducive for learning. “Some of the fans are not working properly. So ventilation is very poor. The classroom is very hot and learning should be in a conducive environment. Fixing the fans would greatly benefit the students”.

“The fuel subsidy removal by the federal government biting hard on us. Some of us cannot pay school fees. Even the student loan they introduced will not benefit all students who need it because of the conditions attached to it. I will prefer something like a grant”.

Raphael Elvis, a 200 level student of Political Science, recounted how the electricity challenge is compounding their problems. “Our light is always faulty and we keep contributing money to fuel gen in this hard time,” lamented even as he bemoaned the present security situation in the area.

“By 8pm, we have locked ourselves up in the room and will not open even to friends for fear of being robbed. A friend of mine was robbed of his belongings (a laptop and a phone) while I don’t take my personal belongings out in the public”.

“If a cup of rice costs 300 in other areas, it costs 340 in Ifite. That tells you what the cost of living is like here”.