UNILAG: Student group plans protest over fee hike

Forum 8 months ago

UNILAG: Student group plans protest over fee hike

Some students and ex-students of the University of Lagos under the aegis of the Students Solidarity Group Against Fee Hike, have said they would protest the recent increment in the fees of students by the management of the university on Tuesday, September 5.

In a statement by one of the coordinators of the group, Mr Femi Adeyeye, on Saturday, the students demanded an immediate reversal of the fees to status quo.

On July 21, 2023, UNILAG announced an increment in the tuition fees of the undergraduate students of the institution, citing “prevailing economic realities.”

The increment saw fees rise from N19,000 to N190,250 for undergraduate students studying medicine while for courses that require laboratory and studio, the students were to pay N140,250.

The group said it had a meeting with the school management, adding that it yielded no result.

“It has become imperative to inform the public of mass protests against fee hike scheduled to start on September 6, 2023, as all Nigerian students, parents, civil society organizations and informal workers, are set to hit the streets to say enough of untold hardship meted out to us.

“Our argument remains that the responsibility of funding public education cannot be shifted to poor students and their parents even in a draining economy such as this.

“We also maintain that the decision taken by the UNILAG management, supervised by their employers, remains authoritarian, illogical and economically inconsiderate.

“We are civil and we believe that our civility should be reciprocated with respect, especially from people saddled with the responsibility of serving the public,” part of the statement read.