On Sunday, 7th December, the Great Ife Students’ Union took a bold stand against what it described as ‘open exploitation’ of fresh students, following the sale of the BIO 107 Practical Manual for Eight Thousand naira (₦8000).
The manual, a thin practical booklet for 100-level science students, is being sold at a price many consider outrageous and completely disconnected from its actual production value. For days, the murmur of frustration had been growing among freshmen, but it was the Union’s official statement that turned the matter into a full-scale campus debate.
The Union condemned the pricing as ‘unacceptable, unjustifiable, and an attack on the welfare of Great Ife students,’ insisting that no academic activity should continue under financial pressure this severe.
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In its directive, the Union did not mince words. Its demands include a halt in the sale of the manual, BIO 107 practical sessions are suspended until the price is reversed, and no student should be compelled to buy any material as a requirement for marks or attendance.
For many fresh students battling the already heavy financial load of settling into school, the manual’s cost felt like the final straw.
‘I think the manual is not worth the price it was sold for,’ said Opeolu Praise, a 100-level student from Biochemistry. ‘It should be around two thousand five hundred naira (N2,500) or maybe three thousand naira (N3,000). Eight thousand Naira (N8,00) is just too much for something like that.’
Also, Olayioye Mary Precious, a fresher from Chemistry, explained that the BIO 107 manual is just one of many steep expenses science students have had to shoulder. ‘We have bought so many manuals already,’ she said. ‘CHM was N10,550, PHY was N9,550, GST111 was N6,000, and MTH 101 and 103 were N4,000. For CHM, we at least got gloves, past questions, and nose masks, so the price made sense. But PHY? Just the manual and the tutorial set, which I also feel is not worth it. However, for BIO? Just a leaflet. It doesn’t match the price at all. They definitely need to reduce it.’
Another Part 1 student of Biochemistry, Omolola Blessing, echoed the same frustration. ‘The manual is not worth the price for real. It just looks like a drawing book. From my own perspective, it should not be more than N2,000. Even the MTH 101 manual that we bought for N2,500 came in two copies, but I got BIO 107 because I had no choice, and no one was ready to speak for us until the Students’ Union released a stoppage on it yesterday, which we are expecting a reduction in the price and a refund to us who have gotten it.
The Students’ Union has assured students to stay calm but firm, promising to defend their rights without compromise.’ As the standoff continues, all eyes are now on the Faculty of Science to see whether the controversial manual price will be reviewed or whether this will escalate into a larger confrontation over academic materials on campus.