Education Rights Campaign, ERC, University of Ibadan branch has kicked against the increment of school fees for the new students of the university.
The new fees for the students admitted for the 2023/ 2024 academic session seen in the portals, range from N230 to N412, N230,000 and N412,000 depending on the courses.
Our correspondent learnt that this represents between a 453% and 750% hike in the school fees charged for the 2022/23 academic session which ranged from N64, 600 to N69,600.
ERC in its reaction, condemned the new fee hike, describing the decision as callous, unjustifiable and anti-poor.
The group in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Akin Paul, said the new school fees will compound the economic woes of parents and guardians of the students.
The statement was made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday.
The group in the statement added that none of the previous hikes either by the present or past university administrations translated into any marginal or significant improvement in both the learning and living conditions of the students.
“A new fee hike whether for new intakes or old students will no doubt compound the economic woe of parents and guardians. It is evident that the country is currently at a critical time when the mass of the Nigerian working people are still grappling without any end in sight, with the rising cost of living side by side with several other multifaceted economic challenges largely occasioned by the decision of the President Bola Tinubu to hike the price of petrol, under the pretence of subsidy removal. This is amidst several other pro-capitalist and anti-working people policies like the devaluation of the naira.
“As far as we are concerned in the ERC, Prof Adebowale-led university administration lacks every moral credibility to impose a new and another regime of fee hike in the university.
“None of the previous hikes either by the present and past University administration has translated into any marginal or significant improvement in both the learning and living conditions of the mass of students. Therefore, we think it does not make sense demanding more money from students when there is nothing concrete to show for the one previously collected.
“Therefore, we fault the decision of Mr Tobiloba-led students union executive to have gone ahead and scheduled a meeting with the university administration without a noticeable effort to first convene a mass meeting popularly known as Congress of the students.
“This kind of approach is tantamount to the act of trying to shave students’ heads in their absence. A Congress of students to discuss the fee hike with a view to secure an agreement as to what is to be done should have been the starting point of the response of the union”.