Students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Cross River State are currently on a protest to express their grievances over the outrageous increment in school fees announced by the university authorities.
The university’s tuition fees for undergraduates rose by over 100 per cent.
The students, in a video shared by Cross River Watch, carried different placards on the campus, reading, “School fees increment unacceptable”, “Say No to school fees increment.”
They marched round the university chanting solidarity songs.
The management of the University of Calabar had announced an increase in the university’s tuition fees for undergraduates by over 100 per cent.
The announcement was made in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Monday.
In the statement by the institution’s spokesman, Mr Effiong Eyo, it said the upward review of the fees was taken at an emergency meeting of the university’s Senate on Friday.
The release disclosed that the implementation of the upward review will take effect in the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 academic sessions.
The increment means that freshers, returning students, and final-year students for the non-science courses are expected to pay N111,000, N91,500, and N114,000, respectively.
In addition, they are also to pay N36,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively, as third-party dues.
Similarly, fees for science courses were increased to N155,000, N125,000, and N148,000, respectively, for freshers, returning students, and final-year students.
Likewise, they are also to pay N38,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively, as third-party dues.
Prior to the increment, tuition fees for an average student, depending on the department, were N64,050 for freshers, N52,050 for final-year students, and N49,500 for returning students.
The management noted that the increment was necessitated by the current economic realities and the need to maintain the academic standard the university is known for.