Nigerian university students protest fee hike

The students, who assembled at the entrance gate of the university’s permanent site in Jos, chanted protest songs in video clips shared on social media.

Students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State, have taken to the streets to protest the recent hike in school fees for the new session.The students, who assembled at the entrance gate of the university’s permanent site in Jos, chanted protest songs in video clips shared on social media.They also carried placards with several inscriptions like; “Let the Poor Breathe”, “Degree, not Debt” and “Fees Must Fall”.The school had in a new fee schedule, released last month, increased fees payable by students by up to 150 per cent, a development that has become an established trend among Nigerian public universities.

The University of Jos had earlier increased the fees up to N200,000 but reduced it after considering feedback from university students, parents and members of the public, according to a statement by the university’s Senior Deputy Registrar, Information and Publication, Abdullahi Abdullahi.

A 400-level student of Economics said his fees have shot up from N45,000 to N110,000.Another student, a 300-level student of Political Science, said his fees increased to N105,000.Other Nigerian universities like the University of Maiduguri, University of Benin, Ahmadu Bello University, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, University of Lagos and the University of Abuja, have increased their school fees in the past months.

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However, public institutions remain tuition-free, according to the government.

President Bola Tinubu in July asked the institutions to avoid further increments.More protestsLast week, students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) also took to the streets to protest the increment of fees from N26,000 and about N76,000 to between N120,750 and N240,250 depending on the courses of study and levels.In May, the University of Abuja rusticated two student union leaders after it accused them of mobilising students against the university over the fee increment.

The universities insist the increments became necessary due to the increasing cost of maintaining the institutions.“These charges being introduced reflect the serious national inflation and the UofA’s determination that our students cannot and must not receive second-class education,” Said Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Abuja.The UNILAG VC, Folasade Ogunsola, a professor, said the old fees regime is no longer sustainable, noting that the university has consistently recorded deficits of about N1 billion annually.