UI Slams 480% Fee Hike on Fresh Students

The management of the University of Ibadan (UI) has commenced an upward review of fees to be paid by fresh students by 480 per cent.

It was gathered that hike in tuition fees, and other rates were published on the university’s website.

UI’s Dean of Student Affairs, Keye Abiona, was quoted as initially confirming the hike in fees, but later declined further comment on the matter when contacted by this newspaper.

The university’s Public Relations Officer, Adejoke Akinpelu, however, said that the UI portal would, in due time, give a full picture of what the 2024 rates should be.

“The fees are personalised for the students based on their courses of study and will be uploaded on their platforms from tomorrow or later. Kindly wait until the fees are uploaded and you have the facts,” the PRO stated in a text message.

However, concerned students who spoke on the development, shared screenshots of the new rates as displayed on their respective portals.

One of them showed 372,000 with an additional N40,000 to be incurred in utility and technology fees, amounting to N412,000.

Another showed N203,500 in total university fees payable by a fresh student, including both utility and technology fees.

Some students in other departments clarified that they were not able to access their studentship portal.

A student admitted into the university in 2023 confirmed that new intakes at the University of Ibadan previously paid between N64,600 and N69,600.

This change amounts to a hike of 492.5 per cent, with well-sought courses like Medicine paying much higher than other departments.

In 2023, several federal universities raised their fees by over 100%, citing a rising cost of living that impacted operational expenditure.

Among the federal universities that upped their rate were the University of Lagos (UNILAG) which amounted to a hike of about 800 per cent, the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), and the University of Nigeria (UNN) Nsukka.

The hikes resulted in a nationwide protest across campuses, with students forcing university managements into negotiating a downward review of the fees.

The management of UI, at that time also moved to raise the total fees payable by its fresh intakes to N175,000 on average in a proposal that remained unapproved due to the nationwide dissolution of public university governing councils by the federal government.