After Backlash, ABU Zaria Suspends New Fee Hike Pending Consultations With Students
- Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, paused the rollout of its revised fee schedule days after announcing the increase
- The new fees would have seen undergraduates pay between N143,000 and N298,000, up from as low as N62,000
- The Students' Representative Council raised concerns just as implementation was about to begin, prompting the university to act
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Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has put its newly announced fee increases on hold, saying it wants to hear more from students and other stakeholders before moving forward.
The university's Public Affairs Directorate announced the decision in a Special Bulletin released on Thursday. According to the bulletin, the Students' Representative Council (SRC) submitted observations and concerns to management at the point when the new charges were about to take effect.
Source: Twitter
"In the spirit of consultation, mutual respect and responsible governance, the management has therefore decided to suspend the implementation of the revised charges to allow for wider consultations and further inputs from the student body and other relevant stakeholders," the university said.
What the new fees would have cost students
The revised schedule would have raised undergraduate fees from the previous range of roughly N62,000 to N84,000, up to between N143,000 and N298,000, depending on the student's programme and level.
The university had defended the increase by pointing to a growing gap between its available resources and the actual cost of running its services.
A significant part of that pressure came from a Court of Appeal ruling that ordered ABU and the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay N2.5 billion to 110 former workers the university had dismissed nearly three decades ago. Management said that judgment had placed considerable strain on its finances.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) President, Akinteye Afeez, described the hike as "a joke taken too far" and called on the Vice-Chancellor to resign if he could not manage the institution. Students also expressed anger across the university's social media pages.
University backs down after student submissions
In suspending the hike, ABU said it found the SRC's submissions "legitimate, responsible and deserving of further consideration." The university praised students for the mature and constructive way they engaged with the matter, calling it a sign that dialogue between the institution and its student body remained productive.
ABU said the suspension reflected its commitment to ensuring that decisions with major consequences for students receive the fullest possible consideration. It added, however, that it remains mindful of the university's financial pressures and the need to find a sustainable way to fund its operations going forward.
NDC slams Tinubu as university hikes fees
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday, October 8, attacked the recent increase in registration charges at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, warning that the development will deepen hardship for working-class Nigerian families. Legit.ng reports that ABU Zaria is a federal government research university.
Source: Legit.ng
