Some parents of students at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka have expressed strong displeasure over the forceful payment of development levy (N5,000) allegedly imposed by the Parents’ Forum in the school on parents of every new student.
The affected parents deem as an act of wickedness the compulsion by the leadership of the University’s Parents’ forum for parents to pay the demanded levy(N5,000) each subsequent year till students graduate, especially under the circumstance of the current economic downturn, 400 per cent increment in school fees, which the University Authority recently sanctioned.
They explained that at the moment, they don’t even know where and how they would be able to raise the obligatory school fees of about N140,000 or more per student if the school authority should enforce the new fees regime and now to compel them again by co-parents in the name of ‘association’ to pay another N5,000 as development levy is to snuff life out of them.
Some of the aggrieved parents told Nigerian Tribune on conditions of anonymity for fear of victimisation of their children that Parents’ Forum representatives have been stationing themselves at the school screening/ registration centre for the new students at the Distance Learning Institute of the university to collect the N5,000 development levy from their children before they could proceed for proper registration with the school.
They said even though the school is yet to start collecting the students’ obligatory fees as of Wednesday, August 23, the Parents’ Forum has started collecting its levy since the registration commenced on August 14.
They, however, made available to Nigerian Tribune a copy of the letter introducing to them the Forum and the N5,000 development levy and subsequent dues each parent is expected to pay and to which bank with the details stated.
The letter, which is routed through students to give to their parents, many of whom usually escort their children to the registration centre, is jointly signed by the chairman and the general secretary of the forum, Messrs Olayiwola Aderemi and Gbolade Balogun, respectively.
The letter read in part,
“Dear Parent\ Guardian, we write to congratulate you on the successful admission of your daughter\son in this great institution for the 2023\2024 academic session.
“The Parents’ Forum, inaugurated on 2nd November 1999, is an avenue for parents to discuss matters affecting the welfare of students with the institution’s authority.
“The objectives of the forum, among others, are to contribute its quota to the university’s development and to serve as a liaison body between the students and the school authority to promote a peaceful environment that guarantees academic excellence.
“Please note that having your daughter\son in the institution makes you an eligible member, and it requires commitment on your part towards active and effective participation at meetings and other activities of the Forum.
“Therefore, the registration fee is N5,000; subsequently, you are expected to pay N5,000 yearly as an annual subscription.
“Let us join hands to give our children a brighter future. They are our investment for a restful future.”
The aggrieved parents, however, emphasised that the N5,000 levy is another burden on them, urging the Forum to forget it entirely and refund parents who had already paid the money.
But in their separate reactions to the development in an interview with Nigerian Tribune, both the immediate past and current chairman of the Forum, Messrs Babatunde Majekodunmi and Olayiwola Aderemi, debunked the claim that the payment is compulsory.
According to them, UNILAG Parents’ Forum has never, since its formation in 1999, compelled any parent of university students for membership, let alone forced any to pay any due.
Even though the forum is open to every parent with a child or children in the university, only a few parents have shown interest. Even among those few, only a small fraction have been committed members.
“And that is why the majority of students of UNILAG pass through the university from the day of admission through to their graduation day without their parents paying a dime to the Parents’ Forum purse, and nobody has ever worried them for that.
“So, there is nothing like forcing any parent to pay the N5,000 levy, more so that we all know that many are going through a difficult time due to high inflation in the country. But as an association, we must encourage for more members,” the current chairman said.
He explained that the levy was initially N3,000 per student, which was increased to N5,000 at a forum congress during the administration of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
He said only a very few parents who know the value and benefits of the forum to the students’ generality, particularly concerning their welfare, keyed into the vision.
He explained that part of the money being generated by the forum is used to support the indigent students in one way or another, including feeding and other sundries, and also to sponsor the N50,000 Parents’ Forum Prize for the overall best-graduating student each year, as well as to support the school in the renovation of students’ hostels including the Moremi Hall and the one at LUTH in Idi- Araba.
In its reaction, the school authority, through the university’s spokesperson, Mrs Adejoke Ibraheem-Alaga, said the authority is aware of the existence and objectives of the parent forum. Still, its affairs are being run solely by the forum’s leadership.
She said the only thing is that the forum liaises with the student’s affairs office, particularly for information gathering about the students and nothing more.
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