By: Sonaike Peter

A survey conducted by IndyPress in August 2024 has revealed that financial constraints, as well as academic drawbacks, have been the combined experience, mutually faced by some students of the University of Ibadan, resulting from the institution’s recent fee hike policy.

Nigeria’s budget constraints, funding cuts and continuing inflation have acted up as common reasons for the trend in fee hike. Students have however made strands of efforts to oppose the fee hike policy.

At the University of Ibadan in the current 2023/2024 academic session, the grove of payable fees by students were increased and in some specific cases to as high as approximately three hundred thousand naira.

Sample survey by a hundred respondents conducted by IndyPress showed that only 66.3% respondents, as of August, had settled fees for the previous academic session, whereas 83% of the same respondents were yet to pay for the current 2023/2024 academic session.

In pursuing their studies, students identified and relied on several initiatives and agencies to meet their obligatory fees. Some of these ways are through parents, 66%; guardian, 10%; self, 17%, among other means like through relatives, religious groups, and charity.

Reacting, Oladipupo Al-ameen, studying Agricultural Extension and Rural Development recalled a loan his parents had to take in the previous academic session which has continued to affect his upkeep to an insufficient scale.

“I have been really affected because before my parents could pay my previous fee they had to borrow a loan which couldn’t allow them to be able to send enough money for my upkeep in school,” Al-ameen explained.

“I have been in constant turmoil and apprehension knowing I may have to stop school if I can’t meet up with the deadline for the payment,” Oluwafemi, a 400L Law student, self-sponsored, told IndyPress. He indicated that his fee increased from a previous sum of sixty thousand naira to eighty thousand naira.

Sharing the concern with students badly affected, Popoola Faizah from the Department of Botany said “not me though, some people haven’t been able to pay cause they just can’t. The 30k was already enough how does the school expect them to pay 131,850”. She added, “I think it is a good idea that we are trying to reverse the fees because those who are raising the fees most of them went to school for free some paid close to nothing, I have a lecturer who paid ’90 naira. Can you imagine that?”.

In the event that the fee hike is not reversed, students in response to IndyPress highlighted mixed feelings. Some students expressed effortless uncertainty, while others hoped to secure loans, trust God’s provision, defer admission, or hustle.