The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, has said no student of the institution will drop out due to fee increment.
Speaking during a virtual press conference on Saturday evening, Ogunsola said the decision to increase the fee was taken after wide consultations with stakeholders since January this year but was announced in July.
The National Association of Nigerian Students had protested against the increment. However, Ogunsola, revealed that indigent students could engage with the Dean, Student Affairs Division for support.
Ogunsola lamented that it was unfortunate that the fee increment announcement coincided with the fuel subsidy removal, adding that the school had introduced installment payments.
“No UNILAG student will drop out if they engage with the DSA. We recognise that we have indigent students. For the new students coming in 6,000 of them have paid out of the 8,000. We are ready.
“We have also intensified the drive for people to adopt them. We have made provisions for indigent students who are unable to make payment of the obligatory fees to register with the DSA for further processing.”
Ogunsola explained that it became crucial to increase the fee due to the harsh economic conditions and inability to meet with requirements of global and quality education.
According to her, UNILAG spends up to N1.7bn on electricity alone yearly, N140 million on examinations yearly, between N100 million and N200 million on course accreditation yearly, and the cost of maintenance of faculties, and hostels among others, are also huge.
She also announced installment payments in three batches in each academic year, the availability of a work-study programme for interested students to raise income, scholarship opportunities for brilliant and indigent students, adoption of students for sponsorship projects by alumni and other well-meaning Nigerians.
The VC also noted that there is a special arrangement with the Lagos Bus Rapid Transport system to ease students’ movement on BRT routes.
“It is unfortunate that the announcement of the fee hike came out at the time of fuel subsidy removal. But we have decided to introduce installment payments. Students can pay in three installments; 50%, 25%, and 25%. Once you pay 50%, you can go ahead and ballot for accommodation, and you can spread the other per centages.”
She reiterated that previously students of the institution paid N19,000, but management fixed new fees at N190,250 for students studying medicine, while for courses that required laboratory and studio, they were to pay N140, 250. Programmes that did not require lab and studio were fixed at N100, 750.
Ogunsola said the university had maintained its fees for 15 years without increment, saying, “We spend N1.7 billion on electricity per annum, despite the fact that our street lights are solar-powered and we use low-energy bulbs.
“Also, we have huge debts to pay. The harsh economic climate of the nation has affected the university, we should have been increasing our fees every year. We are under pressure to produce quality education,” she said.
The VC said despite getting N150m every year for overhead running costs, maintenance of the university gulped a huge amount of money.
She added, “Maintenance of the university is where money is sinking. Hostel maintenance alone costs N500m. The extra charges are to shore up dwindling government funds.
“So, these are just a few of what we expend money on every day in UNILAG. And the fees we were charging students have been there for the past 15 years and we can no longer cope with such an amount.”
