Every year, a significant number of Nigerians seek admission into tertiary institutions across the country by participating in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination exercise (UTME). While some aspirants secure admission to their first-choice institutions, others face rejections for failure to meet the required cut off marks set by the universities of their choice. As a result, affected aspirants are left with the option of either switching to less competitive institutions or retaking the required admission examinations in the following academic year.
Securing admission to some tertiary institutions, is, however, not the end of the struggle for the successful aspirants. Some newly admitted students are often faced with the financial burden of acceptance fees, often imposed on them by some tertiary institutions in the country, despite passing through the rigorous admission process.
The acceptance fees vary from one tertiary institution to another. For example, the University of Ibadan charged N50,000 as acceptance fee in the last academic session, while the University of Benin charged as high as #80,000. It is, however, worth noting, that not all tertiary institutions impose the fee. Institutions like Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and the Federal University in Kashere, Gombe, do not impose acceptance fee on their students.
The continued imposition of acceptance fees by some universities has often attracted immense flak from enraged Nigerians who hold the stern conviction against the marketization of public education. On May 28, 2023, Daily Post reported that parents and several groups condemned the University of Ibadan’s decision to increase its acceptance fee from N37,000 to N50,000. Despite the public outcry, the abolition of the annually imposed fee is still far from reality.
This issue has not gone unnoticed in government circles. On November 20, 2019, the Nigerian House of Representatives adopted a motion urging the federal government and the National Universities Commission to abolish acceptance fees in all tertiary institutions. The motion, sponsored by Hon. Chinedu Emeka Martins, described the fees as exploitative and a barrier to access to public education. Despite the directive, some universities remain resolute in their non-compliance with the legislative policy.
On April 21, 2021, Vanguard reported that the Nigerian House of Representatives revisited the issue. A motion titled “Need to Investigate the Acceptance Fees Charged by Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria,” sponsored by Professor Julius Ihonvbere, the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education, condemned the fees with the House urging the federal government to prioritize the adequate funding of public universities to reduce their dependence on internally generated revenue.Despite the legislative position, the federal government and some universities have failed to abolish the long-debated fees.
Some institutions have also justified the acceptance fee policy by pointing to chronic underfunding of the education sector by the federal government. For instance, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka, once assured the University would comply with the legislative directive regarding the abolition of the acceptance fee collection. Professor Olayinka Idowu, however, claimed that the revenue generated from acceptance fees was insufficient to cover even one month of the institution’s expenses. He cited costs such as healthcare contracts, electricity bills, diesel, and other overheads, emphasizing that the university needed multiple streams of revenue to administer its institutional functionality. Despite this promise, the University of Ibadan, and several other institutions have continued to collect the fees.
Worse still, admitted students who manage to pay these fees often find themselves faced with additional bundle fees characterized by opacity. Consequently, there have been cases of students who, after the completion of their admission process, have reportedly had to defer their admissions or give up on their academic endeavors due to their inability to cope with the financial burden imposed on them by their respective tertiary institutions through the introduction of neo-liberal policies.
It is unfair that Nigeria’s federal government and some universities in the country continue to place the burden of education on Nigerians, despite the fact that the right to free and accessible education is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria . By imposing such ‘arbitrary’ fees, these institutions shut out some deserving candidates who are only held back by financial hardship, orchestrated by the government’s anti-people policies.
What should make an admission-seeking candidate acceptable to a university? Payment of acceptance fees? When a candidate meets the academic requirements and is offered a provisional admission, there should be no further financial barrier to entry.
NANS Must Wake Up to Its Mandate
The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, despite being saddled with the responsibility of championing students’ welfare across tertiary institutions in country, has often failed in living up to its mandate. Unlike in the past when NANS, without iota of cowardice, stood up for student rights even during military rule, the current leadership of the association has become passive and disconnected from the realities students face today. The leadership has failed to challenge the neo-liberal policies being introduced by tertiary institutions across the country.
It is time high time the National Association of Nigerian Students, led by Olushola Oladoja, came to repentance by committing to its core mission of advocating for student welfare. The association must rise to the occasion and hold institutions accountable for policies that place financial strain on students whose aggregate interests it exists to protect. The necessity to challenge the commercization of public education as implemented in our higher institutions of learning cannot be overstated. The student unions across tertiary institutions must also lend their commitment to this cause.
It is pertinent that Nigerian universities stop the collection of acceptance fees. The candidates’ merits should be enough to guarantee their admissions without any conditional fees attached to their final entry into their respective alma maters. The University of Ibadan, which prides itself on being the first and the “best”, should lead by example by abolishing its annually imposed acceptance fee. The University’s Post-UTME examination exercise is currently ongoing, and some aspirants will soon be offered admission. It is only fair that the university ensures the admission of the potential students is solely based on merit, without the added burden of acceptance fees.
