By Milcah Tanimu
Students at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, are prepared to halt school activities if the institution’s management does not reverse its recent decision to raise tuition fees by 300%.
Last week, the university’s management, in an emergency meeting, announced the tuition fee hike through its spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju.
Led by Student Union President Abbas Akinremi-Ojo, the students gathered at the Ken Sarowiwa building on the OAU campus to protest the management’s decision.
Akinremi-Ojo stated, “We’ve also contacted all banks, requesting them to stop accepting fee payments from students until a more favorable resolution is reached. While we hope to avoid it, we are running out of options and may have to shut down all campus activities and progressively extend our actions to other federal institutions across Nigeria, with the support of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS).”
He added, “Student leadership had engaged with the management in August when we learned about plans to increase school fees, and we initiated negotiations. Regrettably, they shut us out and announced the new fees. They claimed that the Federal Government had ceased funding OAU, but the recent release on September 15th, 2023, listed OAU as the 9th most-funded university with a budget allocation of N13.4 billion.”
Likewise, the National Association of Universities Students (NAUS), through its Osogbo chairman, Comrade Olayinka Popoola, cautioned other universities considering fee hikes, stating, “Universities must seek alternative funding sources to meet their needs.”
