AAUA fixes N180, 000 as new fees, parents kick

The Governing Council of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, has announced April 8, 2018, as the resumption date for the students.
The institution has also fixed N180, 000 as the tuition fees for the returning students, which is about 500 per cent increase from the previous N30, 000 paid last session.
The school remained closed after the end of the 2017/ 2018 academic session in January following the inability of the government to conclude on the new fees but the students and parents had appealed to the government to intervene in the matter.
But it was gathered that the State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, had approved the new fees in line with the recommendation of the Governing Council of the institution.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the Governing Council of the AAUA, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, on Thursday, the students were directed to check the school’s portal to see the new development.
The statement read in part, “In order to avoid any further delay in the school resumption, the new school fees for new and returning students have been approved. Students are advised to access AAUA registration portal to know the new school fees for their departments.
“However, the council has approved payment per semester for students who cannot afford to pay the full school fees at once.”
Some of the students, who checked the school portal, found the new school fees which varied from department to department. The amounts range from N120, 000 to N180, 000.
According to a source, the students in the departments such as Educational Management and Guidance and Counselling will pay N120, 000, while students in Accounting, Economics and Law will pay N150, 000. The students in the Faculty of Science will be paying N180, 000 as their new school fees.
Meanwhile, the development has been generating reactions from stakeholders in the state as some parents have rejected the increment, describing it as outrageous.
A parent, Mrs. Mabel Salawu, said the state government did not consider the economic condition of the parents before fixing the new school fees. She urged the government to look into the matter and come up with affordable fees.
She said, “This is too much for us to pay, I have two children in the school and I am a petty trader. How does the school want me to cope? This also contradicts the agreement we had at the stakeholders’ meeting with the management of the school last week. They promised us that the new fees would be affordable but this is not affordable. The governor should look into it.”