UNILAG agrees to partial fee reductions following student protests

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has made concessions in response to the demands of protesting students who opposed the recent increase in tuition fees.

In a statement issued on Thursday evening following a meeting with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the university administration agreed to reduce fees for the students who had been calling for a reversal of the fee hike.

Back in July, UNILAG had announced an upward adjustment in its tuition fees, set to take effect from September 1. Under the new fee structure, mandatory charges for new undergraduate students without access to a lab or studio were set at ₦‎126,325 per academic session, while those with access to a lab or studio would pay ₦‎176,325.

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Returning students in programs without labs or studios were to be charged ₦‎100,750, whereas those in programs with labs or studios would pay ₦‎140,250. Medical students faced a fee of ₦‎190,250.

These new rates represented an increase of over 600% for many students.

The protests by students began on September 6, and NANS requested a meeting with the university management.

Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, UNILAG’s Public Relations Officer, confirmed that the institution had agreed to some fee reductions.

OBLIGATORY FEES

• Utility charges for all students were reduced to ₦15,000 from ₦20,000.
• The obligatory fees for new undergraduate students were reviewed from ₦126,325 to ₦116,325 for courses without Lab/Studio and ₦176,325 to ₦166,325:00 for Courses with Lab/Studio.
• The obligatory fees for returning undergraduate students were reviewed from ₦100,750 to ₦80,750 for courses without Lab/Studio; ₦140,250 to ₦120,250 for courses with Lab/Studio; and from ₦190,250 to ₦170,250 for medical/pharmacy students and students in health professions.
• The convocation fee to be paid by all final-year students was reduced to ₦27,000 from ₦30,000.

HOSTEL FEES

• For undergraduate hostels in Akoka and Yaba campuses, the fees were reduced to ₦43, 000 from ₦90,000.
• For hostels in the Idi-Araba campus, the fees were reduced to N65,000 from ₦120,000.
• The fees for Sodeinde Hall were reduced to N135,000 from ₦250,000.

One of the outcomes of the meeting was the decision to initiate the reinstatement of UNILAG’s student union government, which had been dissolved in 2016.