Parents and students of some universities across the country have cried out over the hike in school fees, saying the development could worsen their current economic pains and lead to mass students’ withdrawals, Daily Trust reports.
Many universities, both federal and state-owned, have issued releases on upward adjustments of registration fees for courses being offered with some of the increment spiking as high as 300%.
Some parents who spoke to Daily Trust said they were already overburdened by the cost of feeding, transportation, energy, among others. Specifically, civil servants said their take home pay, which barely lasts a week, would not in any way cover the cost of funding the higher education of their children even if they dedicated everything.
Some students who sponsor themselves in schools by engaging in SMEs or menial jobs said from what they have seen so far in respect to students’ loan scheme, it would be extremely difficult for some of them to access the facility.
They, therefore, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to first provide mitigating factors, revamp the economy before removing subsidy in the education sector to avert mass drop out by those who could not pay the fees prescribed by the schools they attend.

Daily Trust reports that students of the state-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, recently staged a protest against the nearly 300 per cent increment in the school’s registration fees, which they said now makes some courses in the school more expensive than what is obtainable in some private universities. According to them, law students are now expected to pay as high as N741, 500 as against N185, 000 paid in the previous year.
Similarly, they said medical students were now expected to pay N638, 000 as against N216, 000 based on the new increment. The students lamented the development, saying the state government had made it impossible for the indigent to go to school.
What the management is telling us is that before a salary earner in Edo State could send his child to study law, he would have to work for 23 months before he can pay one level school fees for his child,” one of the protesters said.

Vice President, Inter-campus Affairs, Vanessa Egheahie, had said that should the state government refuse to revert to the old fees, NANS would move its headquarters to AAU to enforce the reversal.
Since the announcement, the school authorities have not spoken on the matter.
UNIMAID too
In Borno, a cross-section of students and parents who spoke with our correspondents expressed concerns over the development while calling on school management to rethink considering the current harsh economic realities in the country.
For instance, when the University of Maiduguri introduced the new tuition fees earlier this year, some underprivileged students and parents raised concerns saying they could no longer cope.
Malam Yusuf, a student of the chemistry department in the institution said after several weeks of resumption, many of his classmates were yet to resume due to the hike in fees.
“It is sad that many of us couldn’t afford what the institution charges. In fact, I stopped calling some of my classmates because, what they always told me is mind boggling and you cannot help,” he said. He called on the federal government to prevail on universities to review the fees so that all returning students can complete their studies.

Another student who wouldn’t want to be identified corroborated, saying: “Despite the fact that the students union government called on students to be patient that negotiation was ongoing to see how the institution would review the fees, most of the students could not come back because their confidence had waned.
“We used to pay N39, 000 for registration but it is now N150, 000. It is incredible, who will give you this money in addition to the cost of accommodation, feeding, books and others? Many students would resort to fate and withdraw,” he said.
A concerned parent, Gwamna Mshelia, described the hike as unbearable while calling on the institution to reconsider its decision.
“Most of these students are from poor family backgrounds. So the university is just saying that education is not for the children of the poor in Nigeria,” he said.
Tanko Ahmad, the Public Relations Officer of the university had said that the management of the institution had done everything pos
