Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) recently increased the accommodation fee and included a sundry fee to the school fees paid by newly admitted students. However, this recent development sparked reactions among the students.
Recall that the accommodation fee was slightly increased in the previous session. The hostel fee, which was increased from ₦3090 to ₦30,000 during the 2022/2023 academic session, escalated to ₦50,000 in this present academic session. This hike in the accommodation fee has left many students feeling frustrated, especially students who rely on staying on campus.
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Mary Ominsande, a 100L student from the Department of English shared her reaction when asked about the recent increment in the hostel fee. She mentioned that she had no choice but to pay the new hostel fee, even though it was a struggle for her financially to raise such an amount of money. Mary expressed how the increase has made it difficult for students like her to manage their expenses, especially when they are already dealing with education costs as newly admitted students.
In addition to the increase in accommodation fees, the University management introduced a sundry fee of ₦30,000 for the new students. However, it was paid alongside the tuition fee, which made the amount of the tuition fee escalate to a certain amount.
But, when viewed on the clearance certificates, it was written separately and the type of payment is ‘Accepted/Process’. Meanwhile, this left students concluding that the management reintroduced payment of the acceptance fee, which was removed during the 2019/2020 academic session.
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A 100L Chemical Engineering student, Olaewe Oluwatobiloba voiced his concerns about the introduced ₦30,000 sundry fee and the increased Accommodation fee. He lamented that the sundry fee adds more pressure on students who have already been trying to find ways to afford their education.
Students have raised concerns that the increment and addition to tuition fees, accommodation fees, and other fees may keep recurring in the forthcoming sessions.
A student, Adeyemi Kolade explained that he feels disappointed that the University Authority is slow to renovate the halls of residence, even though students paid a sum of 25,000 and 30,000 for the accommodation fee during the 2022/2023 academic session.
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Another student, Sowande Gabriel noted that the school is expected to use the sum of money collected for Accommodation fees to revamp and renovate all the hostels on campus. However, he urged the University Management to renovate the Halls of Residence on campus.
Meanwhile, while the fees have been paid, the changes and increase in fees have sparked discussions among students of the Universities. Many are left in awe, wondering how these financial pressures and other expenses will affect their university experience and their standard of living.
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After a negotiation with the university management, the Students’ Union stated that it was not aware of the charges that had been included by the management. However, all attempts to get further information from the Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union, Aka Daniel, regarding the ongoing efforts proved unsuccessful.