With the ongoing 3-week mid-semester break declared by the management on Tuesday, 28th of April, questions are being raised concerning the effects of it on students and on non-academic activities on campus. Are students really utilising this period? Is the break really needed? Is the break affecting the non-academic activities on campus? What could the Management have done instead of declaring the mid-semester break?
Whether or not students were expecting the break
For some students, the break was a shock for them; they were not expecting that the school management would declare three(3) weeks’ break in response to the protest. Omolayo, a part four student, did see it coming, but did not expect the break to be as lengthy as 3 weeks. She said, ‘To be honest, I kind of saw it coming. With everything going on on campus at that time, I felt something had to give, so I wasn’t too surprised when the break was announced, even though the length of it caught me off guard’
Even though the break is unexpected, it still feels good because students have time to rest and rewind for the semester. ‘It has been impactful and rough for me at the same time,’ Muhammad, a student of Pharmacy, noted. Omolayo also claimed it was a bit of both for her. She said, ‘Honesty, it is a bit of both for me. I have time to rest and reset mentally, which I really needed. At the same time, I have been trying to stay productive by focusing on a few personal things.’ For a part three students of Education who preferred to be referred to as Abilat, the break has been impactful for her in some ways because she is making money.
READ ALSO: Mid-Semester Break Takes Toll on Businesses at Central Market
Views on whether the break will lead to positive changes
Some students believe the break will lead to positive changes as they expect the management to have resolved the transport issues. ‘I think the break was necessary to calm things down, but whether it leads to positive change depends on what the management does during this period. If they actually address the issues properly, then yes, it can bring improvement. But if nothing really changes, then it will just feel like a temporary pause,’ Omolayo noted.
Muhammad, he tagged the management’s decision as a bad decision. He affirmed, ‘The break is just a trap to make active minds relax. A bad decision by the management.’ He believes the management could have resolved the issue, but not by declaring the break.
Omolayo stated that the management could have addressed the issue even before escalating to a protest. She said, ‘Before the break was announced, I expected the management to listen more to students and address the concerns directly.’ She added that she was hoping for clear communication and practical solutions instead of things escalating to the point of protest.
Muhammad expects a solution to the problem rather than the declaration of the break. He suggested, ‘The management should buy more buses, and in the meantime, ticket-time allocation can solve part of the problem. The management should start selling 7:00 am tickets, 7:30 am tickets, and so on, which will allow a set of people to be booked for the bus, and it will reduce the long queue palava.’ He also believes that the hostel’s renovation issues should be settled.
Break affecting events and conferences
Conferences like the International Campus Journalism Conference (ICJC) and empowerment programs like All Round Her have been postponed due to the fact that students are not around. Also, other events that were not postponed have to change their venues from places on campus to off-campus locations. An example of such is the Great Ife International Health Conference organised by the office of the Welfare Director, which had its venue changed from Oduduwa Hall to Hotel De Treasure Ife Event Centre off-campus.