There is uncertainty over the fate of thousands of students of the University of Ibadan as the portal for fee payment or course registration closes on Friday.
It would be recalled that, following a protest by the students over the school fees hike, management of the university had asked on August 31 and ordered the students to proceed on a three-week break and return to the school on Friday, September 20.
The institution had particularly ordered students to show evidence of registration before admission into the halls of residence on Friday, adding that students who do not register appropriately will not be allowed to write the first-semester examination scheduled to start on Monday, September 23.
Apparently, in frantic efforts to beat the Friday payment deadline, the students upped the ante on Wednesday, bombarding the media space with appeals for funds from well-meaning individuals.
With various e-flyers and student bodies, departmental associations called for donations to help students pay their school fees and prevent them from dropping out.
In what could be called crowdfunding, the appeals saw the students call for donations of N1,000, N2,000, and N5,000 to help clear school fees of students as they counted down to Friday.
Apart from crowdfunding, some associations have sent out letters seeking financial assistance indicating target sums being sought and account details for the donations, while giving updates on the amount realised as monies came in.
Some of the flyers read: “Help 10 medical students, help us save 10 University of Ibadan medical students from dropping out; Support Future, kindly join us in helping our peers stay in school; Help UI Pharmacy students stay in school; Save 500 UItes from dropping out; Help a FASSAite learn again; Help Educators stay in school; help us raise funds to pay part of 100 educators fees, average N140,000 each.
Other flyers and appeal letters read in part: “Support future nurses today, help nursing students meet their tuition deadline, your support ensures their future in healthcare; Donate today and make a difference, Bring back the smiles, Donate now; your donation is a powerful way to show your support and make a difference.
For many students, time is running out and your support could make all the difference to someone facing the harsh reality of having to drop out.”
Accompanying the flyer from the pharmacy department was the post on X that the school fees were around N50,000 and N60,000 before but was now about N150,000.
Comments on the move for funds were also rife on X, with Jaynett @adeewunmii posting: “Nigeria is so messed up. UI students now have to raise funds to stay in school. Ernesto @Dibia Ernesto wrote: “University of Ibadan students crowdfunding their school fees isn’t something I thought I’d see so soon. The country is hard, and the fees are worsening.
OPC Esq @PeterColeOnele posted: “As a UI alumnus, I know first-hand how hard it was paying N25,000 school fees for many students then. To now give students an impossible ultimatum to pay fees in excess of N200,000 is not only inhumane but oppressive by the University of Ibadan authorities.”
Meanwhile, in an open letter addressed to the university vice-chancellor, the Council of Departmental Presidents, University of Ibadan, requested an extension of the deadline for school fee payment and permission to sit for the General Studies examination.
The letter signed by the chairperson of the council, Iyun Olalekan, and other excos pointed to the challenges faced by many students, especially indigent ones, owing to the current economic situation of the country.
They added that several students who applied for the NELFUND student loan were still awaiting approval, which adds to the financial burden of students.
As a result of the circumstances, the departmental presidents urged that the management of the institution consider an extension of the fee payment deadline while pleading that students who are yet to pay their school fees be permitted to sit for the general studies examination next week.
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