UI students protest as varsity council approves hiked fees

Students have taken to protest after the University of Ibadan (UI) governing council adopted a new fee structure.

Earlier in February, the UI management was reported to have commenced an upward review of the fees for its fresh students.

The rates were said to have been hiked by up to 480 percent, prompting pockets of protest from among the student population.

The university has repeatedly engaged with the institution’s student union government (SUG) in a dialogue to resolve the matter.

On Thursday, the UI governing council approved new rates for all undergraduate levels and also fixed a deadline for payment.

The rates, sources reveal, ranged from N230,000 to 412,00 depending on the programme of study.

The council directed students who have not yet completed their course registration/payment for the session to do so before September 4.

This development has since caused a stir on the university’s campus, with students boycotting lectures to express their disapproval.

The students began a protest that stretched from 10:20 pm on Thursday into Friday morning.

Bolaji Aweda, the president of the UI student union, said the student community are rejecting the new rates.

“We demand a reversal of the increase. We are embarking on a boycott of classes until our demands are fulfilled,” he said.

“The students demand that the school fees portal should be shut down within 24 hours until our demands are met.”