Yar'adua varsity students decry increase in registration fees
September 27, 2012 17:30
NAN-H-154
Fees
Katsina, Sept. 27, 2012 (NAN) Students of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU), Katsina, have decried the increase in registration fees introduced by the university management.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the university last week announced new registration fees, ranging from N38,500 to N88, 500 for the 2012/2013 academic session.
Mr Shamsudden Badamasi, the President of the Students’ Union Government, said at a media briefing in Katsina on Thursday that the fees were too high for the students.
Badamasi said majority of the students were from poor homes and could hardly afford the fees.
He said: “Increasing the registration fees from the previous N14,500 to N16,500 to N38,500 to N88,500 now is uncalled for, considering the poor parentage of most of the students.
“With the present new fees slammed by the university management, 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the students have to truncate their studies for lack of funds.”
Badamasi said the union had written to the state government and copied the vice-chancellor, the special adviser to the State Governor on Higher Education, the SSS, police and emirs, explaining the students’ predicament.
He said the union would negotiate with the state government and the university management for possible downward review of the fees.
“If the negotiation fails, the union will call for a stakeholders' meeting and if that also fails, then the union would have no option but to embark on strike,” Badamasi said.
He said that the union had sought for the cooperation of the local branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The student leader directed all students to stop registering and await further instruction but advised them to remain calm and be law abiding.
Dr Garba Matazu, Special Adviser to the State Governor on Higher Education, said the upward review of the fees was due to the prevailing financial situation in the country.
He said that “of all state universities in the country, UMYU charges the least registration fees.”
Matazu said the state governor had directed that the new fees be reviewed and also directed the State Scholarship Trust Fund to increase the scholarship of the students. (NAN)
ARL/AMY/JCE
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