Unijos authorities, students bicker over N45,000 tuition

the University of Jos on Saturday said there was no going back on the implementation of the Federal Government” approved school charges of N45,000, by each student.

The university received the directive to review the charges from the National Universities Commission (NUC) on January 22, 2015, and presented it before the Governing Council and Senate, who both ratified it for implementation.

The management had announced the new charges of N45,000, a 67 per cent increase from the former N27,000 was from the Federal Government.

A statement by Mr Monday Danjem, the Registrar, said the fee was compulsory for all undergraduates.

He advised students seeking to be accepted by the school to pay the new charges at the commencement of the 2016/2017 academic session.

Reacting to the threat by the students union, the university, in a statement signed by the Registrar, Mr Monday Danjem, said the impression given by the students was wrong, adding that the new fee was a collective decision.

Danjem said that the old charges were no longer realistic in view of the increase in the cost of most goods and services like cleaning services, electricity and other utilities, accreditation expenses, stationery, examination expenses, among others.

“We used to pay a monthly charge of N12 million for electricity supply per month, but that has gone up to N23 million. We must take steps to make up for the shortfall,” he said.

He added that  the university did not charge tuition fees, as was being erroneously speculated. What students are required to pay are school charges that are approved by government and captured in the budget.

“The fact that the SUG officials have opted to embark on a campaign of calumny against the university administration, despite the many attempts to make them see reason, is unfortunate.

“But, this should not detract from the fact that the University, as a solely Federal Government-owned institution, has a duty to comply with directives received from its proprietor while also fully ensuring that its activities are properly carried out in an efficient and sustainable manner,” he said.

But the Students Union Government (SUG), at a press conference, on Friday, distanced itself from the new charges, saying that it was  denied the opportunity to contribute during a stakeholders’ parley.