As the current hardship in the country bites harder under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some students of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, have taken to social media to beg for financial assistance to pay their tuition, which was recently hiked by the school management.
The students had earlier held massive protests to force the management to rescind its decision on the increment of school fees for the 2023/2024 academic session.
The fees, it was gathered were increased from N230,000 to N412,000, which triggered reactions from the students.
Despite public demonstrations by the students and several interventions of some concerned citizens, the management of the institution has refused to back down on its decision.
The situation has forced many of the students, particularly those from not-well-to-do backgrounds to resort to begging to avoid withdrawing from school.
One of the students, Femi said he is at risk of withdrawing from the school if he does not pay the tuition before Friday.
Femi wrote: “Please sir I’m a student of the University of Ibadan. Our deadline is slated for Friday. Without payment we won’t be able to write exams sir. I hope you help me out with anything sir
“You can DM for any verification, sir.”
Femi’s position that the deadline for the payment of the tuition fees is slated for Friday is confirmed in an internal memo issued by the university’s registrar, G. O. Saliu.
The memo reads: “As we prepare to welcome students back to campus on 20 September 2024, after the Senate-approved three weeks break for students of the University of Ibadan, with effect from Saturday, 31 August 2024 to 20 September 2024, students are to note the following:
“The hostels will be reopened for students from 12 noon on Friday, 20 September, 2024.
“The 2023/2024 first semester examinations will start on Monday, 23 September, 2024.
“The portal for registration will be closed on Friday, 20 September, 2024. There will be no re-opening of the portal for fee payment or course registration after 20 September, 2024.”
In a post shared by a blog, GistAroundYou, a flier is seen soliciting money for about 100 students of the university.
The blog wrote: “University of Ibadan students devise a far-reaching means to reach the public to help them beat the school deadline for registration. Confirming that it is indeed not a great sign of a prosperous Nigeria when students have to crowdfund their new school fees which was only recently increased to over ₦100k.”
The flier titled ‘HELP EDUCATORS’ STAY IN SCHOOL’ reads: “Help us raise funds to pay part of 100 educators fees (average 140,000 each)…”
“The deadline for the payment is less than seven days but some persons have not paid and neither do they have any means to. Your donation is a powerful way to show your support and make a difference,” it added.
