Increase In DELSU Tuition Fees: A Call For Concern

By Franklin Ogude

Students of the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, are in frantic, over the hike in school fees for the new academic year, a plan that was hatched without notice to the students.

The university management had increased the fee for the 2020/2021 academic session, which brought irksome reactions from students and their sponsors, have again in the 2021/2022 academic year, increased the fee unknown to many students.

Students who want to pay their fees for the current year, with expectation of it being lesser than the previous year, have come to realize that it has been increased on their portal, compared to payment made for the last session.

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Some students who have paid their fees for the current academic year are going back to their school portals to see “you have an outstanding balance payment to complete your fee for the selected session.” The question of how to tell their sponsors that they have to add to the money they requested pops up.

Students in DELSU are struggling with surviving an expensive town like Abraka, where the cost of living is compared to that of urban communities like Lekki, Lagos State, and the school management is increasing school fees.

The Student Union Government (SUG) attempted fighting against the increment last session, but, its effect on the Management triggered the reduction of only 15% from the added amount to the stale price.

A part of the agreement reached, following the meeting held March 15, 2021 has it that there should be a 15% reduction in school fees for students except for those in programmes in Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Nursing. Management explained that these four professional programmes are not only regulated by professional bodies, but are generally quite expensive to run all over the world.

Students from Faculty of Law, are seeing above 243,000naira on their school portal to be paid for this session. Some students in the social sciences, in their school fees breakdown are also complaining of seeing money for laboratory, yet they have nothing to do with labs.

Also, students are crying that the fees should be reduced, adding that they cannot protest if nothing is done since the last attempt was assumed to be hijacked by hoodlums.

With the large number of people being admitted in the academic year, 2021/2022, many would not be able to come to school as the new fees would scare them away.

Education is looking like a rich man’s business with the way the university management is incessantly increasing the fee.

The management must have a rethink on this move and well-meaning Deltans must mend their voices to the appeal for a reduction.