Following Thursday’s meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has announced a review of its new fees.
The management of the university led by its Vice-Chancellor,
Folasade Ogunsola, met with the student leaders on Thursday. The students were
led by the President of NANS, Usman Barambu, and the meeting was part of
efforts to address the lingering crisis over the fees.
The university had increased the payable fees from N26,000
and about N76,000 to between N120,750 and N240,250 depending on the courses of
study and year of admission.
However, in an official statement sent to PM News Friday
morning by the university’s spokesperson, Adejoke Alaga-Ibrahim, the
institution announced the reduction of the obligatory fees for students,
utility bills, convocation fees and others.
According to the statement, the utility charges for all
categories of students have been reduced to N15,000 from N20,000 and
convocation fees to be paid by all final-year students were reduced to N27,000
from N30,000.
The obligatory fees for new undergraduate students were
reviewed from N126,325 to N116,325 for courses without lab/studio and N176,325
to N166,325 for courses with lab/studio.
Also, the obligatory fees for returning undergraduate
students were reviewed from N100,750 to N80,750 for courses without lab/studio;
N140,250 to N120,250 for courses with lab/studio; and from N190,250 to N170,250
for medical / pharmacy students and students in health professions.
The hostel fees were also reviewed. for undergraduate
hostels in the Akoka and Yaba campuses, the fees were reduced to N43,000 from
N90,000; for hostels in Idi-Araba campus, from N120,000 to N65,000; while the
fees for Sodeinde Hall were reduced to N135,000 from N250,000.
Apart from the reversal of the obligatory fees, the
university noted in the statement that the NANS President also demanded the
reinstatement of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) in UNILAG.
According to the statement, Mr Barambu observed that the
absence of SUG in UNILAG had adversely affected communication between the
students and management.
He also noted that students would be able to channel their
grievances appropriately through the SUG.
The vice-chancellor will commence the process of reinstating
students’ union activities in the university, the spokesperson said.
The university in 2016 dissolved the student union of the
institution as a reaction to a protest by the students.
The statement also noted that Mrs Ogunsola reiterated her
commitment to the actualisation of measures put in place to ameliorate the
negative impacts of the obligatory fee review.
The vice-chancellor had initially explained that the
measures to ease the payment of fees include an instalment payment option,
scholarship, revitalisation of a work-study programme, assistance to indigent
students, and partnership with Lagos Bus Rapid Transport System.
She also reiterated that “No UNILAG student would drop out
of the institution due to fees.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment