The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, is miffed and genuinely concerned by the unfortunate upheaval that the current raise in tuition fees payable by students has generated.
As parents themselves, the authorities of the institution are bothered about the inevitability of the review at this particular time when the unfriendly economic situation is the complaint across the strata of our society. However, as a leading university of technology, rated as providing the best form of non-generic higher education, the university does not want to water down the standard that it is known for as we cannot afford to compromise the hard earned profile that has given the brand its enviable class among its peers.
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While accepting the barrage of criticisms that has greeted the process that followed the well thought out steps aimed at ensuring that academic programmes in the institution continue without any disruption, we would have appreciated that stakeholders see the things that we saw before asking for a fee regime that is sustainable and fair to all concerned, even in the spirit of survival and future of this great university.
As it is today, an unbiased study of fees paid by students of sister universities, especially state-owned citadels of learning, would show clearly that while not trying to compare our fees with our contemporaries, LAUTECH regime of fees still ranges as one of the lowest in the southwestern part of the country.
The governing council and management of the university appreciate the concern of stakeholders over its present situation, but plead with our well wishers to come to the realisation that cost of running qualitative and functional first grade technical institutions like ours is becoming unbearably impossible if N65, 000 and 72, 000 for indigenes of owner-states and non-indigenes are maintained.
It is important to point out that the Internally Generated Revenue from students’ fees would only be supplementary.
Also, going forward from now, students and parents are being brought into the management of the university fund in a manner that entrenches transparency and accountability.
Olalekan Fadeyi, head, Public and Alumni Relations Unit, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso.