As tertiary institutions across the country begin a new session next week, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, parents and students started protests as more varsities continue to hike their fees amid a worsening economy.
ASUU as well as the associations of parents and students warned about the likelihood of mass dropouts of students following the hikes in fees by the universities across the country.
The union was worried about the development just as apprehensive parents expressed concerns over the implication of the fee hike for their children and wards in public tertiary institutions.
The National President, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, frowned on the fee increases, noting that the university is not a profit-making commercial centre.
FACTUAL NAIJA NEWS gathered that the management of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, announced a new school fee regime on Wednesday.
The decision, according to a communiqué released by the university’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, was taken by the school’s Senate at its emergency meeting held on Tuesday.
The statement disclosed that fresh students in the Faculties of Arts, Law and Humanities would pay N151, 200, while returning students of the same faculties would pay N89,200.
The same scenario was observed at the University of Benin where new fees had been introduced by the management for full-time undergraduate courses for the 2022/2023 academic session.
Before the increment, science students who used to pay N73, 000, are now required to pay N190, 000. Non-science students who used to pay N69, 000, are now mandated to part with N170, 000.
Several federal universities began the implementation of increment in fees following the suspension of the industrial action by the ASUU in October 2022.
The varsities which hiked their fees included the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare; University of Maiduguri; Federal University, Dutse; Federal University, Lafia; University of Uyo; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, among others.
The universities in separate memos attributed the development to the rising cost of learning materials and the need to adequately fund activities in their respective institutions.
So far in 2023, the Bayero University, Kano; University of Lagos, Akoka; University of Jos; and the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife had also announced fee increment.