The Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) has instituted a reparation fee of N20,000 on each graduate of the 2012/2022 academic session. This decision comes in response to alleged destruction of school property during the celebratory activities following their graduation.
The announcement was made after the 495th meeting of the FUTO Senate, which was held on Thursday, August 31, 2023. The Senate ordered that all graduating students from the 2021/2022 session be required to pay the sum of N20,000.00 as compensation for damages caused to university properties.
In addition to the reparation fee, the university administration has also decided to impose a one-academic-session rustication on the individuals identified as the ringleaders or key players in the act of destruction. This decision was confirmed in a statement signed by the Registrar/Secretary to the Senate, Mr. Chiadozie Uba.
According to the statement, “The Senate reviewed the report submitted by the Committee of Deans regarding the mindless celebration that resulted in the wanton destruction of university properties by graduating students. The decisions reached by the Senate are to be implemented accordingly.”
News of this development has generated considerable tension on the FUTO campus, with many students expressing their belief that the management acted hastily in punishing them without taking the circumstances into account.
One of the graduates from the 2012/2022 set, who preferred to remain anonymous, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Hope Uzodinma to intervene on their behalf. The graduate stated, “I am certain that none of us in this cohort engaged in such misconduct. There was a memo from the school prior to the exams explicitly stating that such celebrations were prohibited, and we complied.”
The graduate further added, “This memo seems like an underhanded attempt by the university administration to extort money from us.”
