UI Students Protest, Boycott Lectures Over Fees’ Hike

Following the approval of a hike in tuition fees by the governing council of the University of Ibadan, students of the institution have commenced another protest and boycot of lectures.

The protest staged by the students yesterday, saw some of them moving around to ensure that lectures were not held until the fees were reduced.

It was gathered that the protest was ignited by the institution’s governing council’s approval of the fee increase.

Some of the students who spoke with journalists lamented that their school fees had been increased by more than 100 per cent.

A student from the Department of Human Nutrition, who spoke in confidence due to fear of intimidation, said that students in the department paid N58,000 during the last session, saying she was surprised when the fees were increased to N138,350 for the new session.

“In our department, Human Nutrition, during the 2022/2023 session, we paid N58,000, and now for the 2023/2024 session, we were asked to pay N138,350,” she said.

A student from the Department of Animal Science said that fees in the department had also been increased, adding that the majority of the returning students were yet to pay the new school fees.

“In the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, we paid N70,000 for the 2022/2023 session, and now for the 2023/2024 session, it has been increased to N150,000.

“Most of us have not seen the money; we are yet to pay. The students are protesting now. We cannot attend lectures,” he said.

It was gathered that the governing council of the university has approved the increment in school fees of students of the institution from 100 to 400 level and also fixed the deadline for payment.

The institution’s registrar and secretary to the council, G.O. Saliu said in a statement that the decision was reached at the inaugural meeting of the council held earlier on Thursday where it considered the new levy as recommended by the Senate of the University.