The Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Bamitale Omole, has said the the new fee regime in the university had become inevitable.
Omole who spoke at a press conference he addressed in Ile Ife on the protest against the recently introduced fees, said the N5,300, which the university charged for 10 years was no longer realistic, saying inflation and the current economic realities did not support the charges, which he described as ridiculous.
The university recently increased the charges of its newly admitted students from N37,150 and N42,150 to N 82,400, N92,700 and N95,700 (acceptance fee inclusive), depending on the faculties.
The fees for old students of the institution were also increased from N5,300, N7,800, N10, 300 and N12,800 per session to N19,700, N30,700 and N33,700 for different faculties respectively.
Omole explained that high inflation rate and efforts of the management to sustain the academic standard in the university necessitated the increment.
“Precisely during 2004/2005 academic session, the university administration reviewed the charges paid then, which were in line with the economic realities of that time. The charges are still being paid to date after 10 years.
“It is evident that the current economic realities have made those charges unrealistic and unsustainable,” adding that the old fees regime was the “most ridiculous in the entire tertiary education system in Africa.”
Apart from the huge amount spent to buy diesel, Omole said the university was also paying an average of N30m monthly on electricity bill, adding that the university considered it imperative to review upward the old fees to ensure continued survival of the university.
The vice chancellor said that the university administration did a comparative analysis on the regime of charges in other Federal universities in the country and it was discovered that the charges paid by students in OAU were not only ridiculously low but have become very unsustainable if our university is to survive.
“The university administration is not insensitive to the plight of the poor, as being peddled, in arriving at the current charges. Indeed, in order to assist the poor but brilliant students, the senate of the university has also set up a Student Education Relief Committee where scholarships, grants, opportunities for work study will be provided for this set of students,” Omole said.
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