Nigerian private university announces huge increase in fees

A Nigerian private institution, Baze University, Abuja, has increased fees payable by students, citing an ‘astronomical rise’ in the cost of goods and services.

The increments include a 100 per cent rise in hostel fees, a 35 per cent increase in tuition, and Students’ Industrial Working Experience Scheme (SIWES) as well as a 25 per cent increase in laundry charges.

The university’s Deputy Registrar and Acting Dean of Students, Kehinde Adekeye, communicated the increase to students in an internal memo, a copy of which this newspaper saw.

Mr Adekeye said the new increment is effective from May.

“I am directed to inform you that after careful consideration and assessment of various factors such as the astronomical rise in the cost of goods and services, provision of competitive salaries and benefits, compliance efforts with government regulations and accreditation standards, and general economic downturns, the university management has decided to implement the following fees adjustments as approved by the University Governing Council, effective May 2024,” part of Mr Adekeye’s memo to students reads.

Previous fee schedule

Before this increment, students paid between N800,000 and N1.2 million for hostel fees for a session, according to a payment schedule seen by this newspaper. This has now been increased by 100 per cent, according to the memo.

The tuition before the latest increment is about N3 million per academic session, while medical students pay as high as N5 million from the second year through the fourth year. In the fifth year, according to the previous payment schedule, medical students pay N9 million per academic session. The tuition has now been increased by 35 per cent, according to the new memo.

Tertiary institutions and fee hike

This is the latest in the wave of fee increments started by public universities last year when more than a dozen public universities increased fees payable by students even though the Nigerian government maintains that the public institutions run by the federal government remain tuition-free.

Just like Baze University, the management of the public universities said the increments were necessitated by the increase in the cost of maintaining the institutions’ facilities.

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The student loan promised by President Bola Tinubu has consistently failed to take off despite multiple promises.

Shortly after assuming office last year, Mr Tinubu signed the Higher Education Access Act, which institutionalised an Education Bank to provide student loans for Nigerian students who cannot afford tuition.

However, the government has missed three take-off dates for the student loan initiative in less than a year.

The bill was recently sent back to the National Assembly for repealed, and a fresh one already passed but is yet to be assented to by the President.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe