The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, has increased the tuition of the school by over 300 per cent, insideoyo.com can authoritatively report.
The new fees which affect only first year and graduating student was increased to N300,000 for Medical, Nursing and Biomedical students, while Engineering and Technology student will pay N250,000 and Social sciences, Agric and Applied sciences students pay N200,000.
This new fee is against the N63,500 for indigenes and N72,500 for non-indigenes returning students. The present 100 level students paid N120,000 for indigenes and N150,000 for non-indigenes as part of the resolution of the institution after the university strike that lasted for months.
Insideoyo.com recalls that Governor Abiola Ajimobi had during the wake of the crisis over the default of the owners to pay subvention and staff salaries of the school described tuition fees in LAUTECH as `abysmal,’ adding that it would be reviewed for the institution to be self-sustaining.
The governor made the remark while featuring on a programme tagged “Saturday Special’ aired on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS)in September 2017.
Ajimobi had said his administration since assumption of office in 2011, paid N22 billion to the institution.
The Public Relations Officer of the university, when contacted by Premium Times, Lekan Fadeyi, did not deny nor affirm the approval of new fee payment. Rather, he advised reaching out to the council.
Meanwhile, a top official of the university, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told Premium Times in a telephone interview he has been earlier briefed about the decision of the council.
“I also saw the release this morning. Although, the VC earlier said the issue was raised at the governing council meeting”, he said.
Meanwhile, several reactions have followed the development from students as they tagged the decision of the university as an “illicit act”.
“The truth is that more than 70 per cent of the students can’t afford it and the other 30 per cent will struggle to pay it. The ones, whose parents are staff of the institution aren’t left out either,” a female student who asked not to be mentioned because of fear of victimisation said.
