Following a staggering 300 percent increase in tuition fees at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), located in Ile-Ife, Osun State, the institution’s students are now issuing a stern ultimatum. They have threatened to disrupt the school’s operations unless the university’s management reverses this controversial decision.
This hike in tuition fees was officially announced by the university’s public relations officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, during an emergency meeting held just last week. However, this decision has ignited a wave of protest among the students, who have united under the banner of the Student Union, led by their president, Abbas Akinremi-Ojo. On Monday, they converged at the Ken Sarowiwa building within the OAU campus to vehemently oppose the management’s choice.
Addressing the newsmen, Akinremi-Ojo revealed: “We’ve also written to all respective banks to halt the acceptance of fee payments from any student until a better resolution has been achieved. As much as we don’t want to, we are currently running out of options and might have to shut down all activities on campus and progressively on all other federal institutions campuses in Nigeria because we are carrying the leadership of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) along which they backed.
“The student leadership had met with the management in August when we learnt about plans to increase school fees and we started negotiating. Unfortunately, they shut us out and announced the new fee. They claimed that the Federal Government has stopped funding OAU, meanwhile, the recent release on September 15th, 2023 listed OAU as number 9 of the top-funded universities with a budget allocation of N13.4B.”
Similarly, the leadership of the National Association of Universities Students (NAUS) through its chairman, Comrade Olayinka Popoola in Osogbo warned other universities planning to increase to desist, saying, “Universities must source funds elsewhere to meet their needs.”
