How many students will have to die before our institutions get better clinics?

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti was indefinitely shuttered on Sunday, October 8, 2017, after students trooped out to protest the death of two students.

The deceased who had reportedly complained of malaria on Friday, October 6, were rushed to the Polytechnic's Health Centre for treatment, but instead of getting relieved of their ailment, their condition worsened and they both passed away in the early hours of Saturday.

How two students complained of the same ailment same day and died same day is beyond the comprehension of the students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti. And in cases like this, protest is the only language the students speak to demand answers to questions on why Nigerian students die in the school clinics.

A number of times, students have left their hostels to get a drug or treatment in their school clinic but end up dying in the facility that was set up to save them.

This has happened over and over again but the university and polytechnic managements in our country have been reluctant to address the issue.

In July, a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Kogi was reportedly stabbed by hoodlums who attacked his lodge. The victim was rushed to the school clinic for treatment, unfortunately, the clinic officials refused to help a dying student because he was not holding his school Identity Card. Sad !

This led to a violent protest by other students and the school management had no option but to shut down the school for four weeks.

Why should a bleeding student be denied treatment in the first place? Could it be because the ID card is more important than the life of the student?

The same ugly incident played out in February 2016 when a female student, Comfort Dazan, who fell ill was allegedly asked to pay N35,000 before she could be admitted into Yaba College of Technology Clinic before she could be treated.

Punch reported that Dazan was left unattended to when she could not raise the money. It was when her sickness deteriorated that the clinic staff thought it wise to transfer her to Federal Medical Centre, Oyingbo. She never made it to the hospital.

Again, in February 2017, a 300 Level student of Federal University of Technology Minna, slumped while playing football on, he was rushed to the school clinic and his story ended up with candle lights and black shirts.

Too many students have died in some of the horrible centres we call clinics in our higher institutions. Nothing functions in some of these clinics and these are why every emergency cases end with tragedy and subsequently followed by violent protests.

These students can not afford to fold their arms to see themselves die one after the other simply because the clinic is just a name and not a life-saving centre.

How many students would have to die before the management and the government wake up to their responsibility of saving lives of the future leaders?

The situation is pathetic, but no one is amplifying the students' plights. Once the students protest over the death of a colleague, the school is shut down for weeks or months and after resumption, nobody talks about equipping the clinic centres.

Apart from the fact that these clinics are as poorly equipped as the institutions that own them, the nonchalant attitude of school clinic staff has on many occasions led to the death of many students.

The slow reactions of the Federal University of Technology Minna to the 300 Level student, who slumped while playing football infuriated the students that their eyes were covered with rage till they set the school clinic afire.

It is high time our higher institutions deserve health centres. The poor facilities we have as school clinics are eyesore. This is not acceptable because Nigerian students deserve better treatment.