Fees Hike: OAU Students Threaten To Shut Campuses Nationwide In Joint Action With NANS

Students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, have threatened to shut down their campus in joint action with the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) over a 300 percent increase in tuition fees.

The students, led by their union leaders, gathered at the Kensarowiwa building on the university campus on Monday and demanded that the tuition hike be reversed.

Addressing the students, the President of the Student Union, Abbas Akinremi-Ojo, disclosed, “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, with the backing of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS).”

He recalled that the student leadership had met with the management in August when they learned about plans to increase school fees, followed by negotiations.

He continued, “It is unfortunate that the management announced the 300 percent increment in tuition fees without considering the plight of the students of the institution. When we met with the management, they claimed that the Federal Government had stopped funding OAU. However, the recent release on September 15th, 2023, listed OAU as the 9th top-funded university with a budget allocation of N13.4 billion.”

Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Association of Universities Students (NAUS), led by its chairman, Comrade Olayinka Popoola, issued a 5-day ultimatum to the management of OAU to reverse the tuition fee hike. He warned other universities planning to increase fees to desist from doing so, suggesting they seek alternative funding sources.

Popoola also expressed concern about the safety of the students in the institution in Ilesa, calling on security agencies to intervene and stop the violence in the community.