Following a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has announced a review of its fees.
The university’s management, led by its Vice-Chancellor, Folasade Ogunsola, met with the student leaders on Thursday, September 14.
The students were led by the President of NANS, Usman Barambu, and the meeting was part of efforts to address the lingering crisis over the fees.
The university had increased the payable fees from N26,000 (for returning students) and about N76,000 (for new students) to N120,750 and N240,250 depending on the courses of study and year of admission.
However, according to the university’s spokesperson, Adejoke Alaga-Ibrahim, the institution announced the reduction of obligatory student fees, utility bills, convocation fees and others.
According to the statement, the utility charges for all categories of students have been reduced to N15,000 from an initial N20,000, and convocation fees paid by all final-year students were reduced to N27,000 from N30,000.
The obligatory fees for new undergraduate students were reviewed from N126,325 to N116,325 for courses without lab/studio and N176,325 to N166,325 for courses with lab/studio.
Also, the obligatory fees for returning undergraduate students were reviewed from N100,750 to N80,750 for courses without lab/studio, N140,250 to N120,250 for courses with lab/studio, and from N190,250 to N170,250 for medical / pharmacy students and students in health professions.
The hostel fees were also reviewed for undergraduate hostels in the Akoka and Idi-Araba campuses; the fees were reduced to N43,000 from N90,000; for hostels in the Idi-Araba campus, from N120,000 to N65,000, while the fees for Sodeinde Hall were reduced to N135,000 from N250,000.
Apart from reversing the obligatory fees, the university noted that the NANS President also demanded the reinstatement of the Students’ Union Government in UNILAG.
The university in 2016 dissolved the institution’s student union as a reaction to a protest by the students.
