THE management of the University of Ibadan has shut down the school for three weeks and directed all students to vacate the campus.
The development followed the protest held by students on Friday, August 30, over the hike in tuition fees by the university’s governing council.
During the protest, the students waved different placards with inscriptions such as, “We Say No Tuition Hikes,” “Management Is Insensitive To Our Plights,” and “Our Parents Cannot Afford The New Hikes,” while they blocked roads leading to the school.
According to a circular dated August 30, 2024, the institution’s registrar, G. O. Saliu, directed the students to vacate the school premises by 2 pm on Saturday (today), stating that the school would be shut for three weeks.
The decision to shut down the institution was taken at the meeting of the university’s management with the leadership of the students’ union on Friday, August 30, 2024.
The school’s vice-chancellor, on behalf of the Senate, approved that the institution be shut.
He noted that the directive would be effective Saturday, August 31, 2024, till September 20, 2024.
Part of the circular reads, “All students are to vacate the university campus by 2 pm on Saturday, August 31, 2024. The hostel will be reopened from noon on Friday, September 20, 024.
“Students are therefore to note the following: The three weeks is to give students ample time to complete their online registration, the 2023/2024 first semester examination will now start on Monday, 23 September 2024, and the period for registration will be closed on Friday, September 20, 2024.”
Reports indicate that many students who paid between N20,000 and N30,000 may now pay N200,000 and more in the school.
This is not the first time The ICIR will be reporting how fee hikes amid hardship resulting from several economic reforms by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government have sparked protests at various tertiary institutions across the country.
Immediately after his inauguration on May 29, Tinubu removed fuel subsidy and floated the naira leading to a surge in the cost of transport, food and other essential commodities.
Despite the hardships occasioned by the government’s reforms, several universities have hiked school fees, with some students paying over N200,000, including the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and University of Abuja (UNIAbuja), where a student Cyprian Igwe was rusticated in May for urging students to meet and discuss the hike.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.