No fewer than seven persons were injured when students of Plateau State Polytechnic on Monday protested over the postponement of their semester examinations by the school authorities over an indefinite strike embarked upon by their lecturers.
The students were supposed to be write their semester examination before the strike. Thus, they took to the streets to protest.
However, the protest, which was meant to be peaceful, was highjacked by hoodlums as some cars had their windscreens smashed.
The provoked students trooped out in large numbers and blocked the Yakubu Gowon Way, a major highway leading into and out of Jos, as traffic was disrupted for many hours.
Speaking to The Nation, Mr. Tindak Theophilius, a student of the Plateau Polytechnic said seven of their students were receiving treatment in a hospital in Jos. He said some of them were asthmatic patients who could not stand the teargas fired at the students.
He described the decision of the leadership to postpone the examination as an attempt to truncate their academic journey.
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“We came to school this morning to start our examinations only to see a circular that our lecturers have been on strike since Friday.
“We were not informed; nobody said anything to us we just discovered that we cannot start our examinations.
“This is why students were protesting.
“We have spent over three years in just one semester owing to COVID-19 lockdown,and the various strikes embarked upon by our lecturers.
“We keep paying for our accommodation, school fees, and other expenses. We are getting old and by the time we graduate, we may not be able to find jobs because of age,” he said.
Another student, Pam Bulus, decried the incessant strike by their lecturers, adding that the development has stagnated their academic progression.
“Nobody has come to address us on the issue and we feel this is not right.We demand a proper explanation from the management on why we cannot start our examinations today.
“We are tired of the situation. Our academic journey is affected and this is not good for us,” he said.
Efforts to reach Mr. John Ramadan of the Public Relations Department of the institution at the time of sending this report was abortive.
Meanwhile, the government has started negotiations with union leaders to resolve the matter.