The Senate of the University of Benin, Edo State, at a virtual meeting, the second in 20 hours, and adopted the verbal pronouncement by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lilian Salami, withdrawing the N20,000 penalty for late payment of school charges by students of the Institution. The university authorities succumbed to the pretext and demands of the students who have been on rampage since the imposition of the levy.
The University Senate also approved the decision that money already paid by defaulting students be refunded through modalities to be worked out by the Bursary Department.
The Senate declared that “consequently, lectures are to resume on Monday 20th September, 2021, to enable students who obeyed the directive on school closure and travelled, to return.”
The University’s decision-making body also agreed that a new time-line be set for the payment of the school charges for the 2020/2021 Academic Session and directed that the re-activation of charges for Postgraduate Programmes be sent to the Board of Postgraduate School for review.
While reiterating that penalty for late payment of school charges, which has been in existence for years in the University should not be set aside but modified, moved a vote of confidence on the University’s Management commending the Vice Chancellor for her wisdom, courage, and magnanimity in acceding to the reason for the students’ protest.