UI Students Seek Help to Avoid Dropping Out as Deadline for School Fees Approaches

With the 20th of September being the closing date for the payment of fees in the University of Ibadan, different groups of students have started crowdfunding for members who cannot pay their tuition. The recently increased tuition has left the student union, University of Ibadan Student Union, and faculties financially strained and forced them into public appeals for assistance to prevent students dropping out.

Assurances sought from the public: The UISU, the Faculties of Pharmacy and Nursing, the Agronomy, Physiology and Nutrition Science Departments. In a memo signed by the President, UISU Bolaji Aweda and the Public Relations Officer Omotayo Olumide, the student union explained that their dream was to raise 50 million naira, an amount they needed to get for the school fees of 500 students by the close of September 20, looming large.

The memo, in part, titled “APPEAL FOR SUPPORT!!!”, read thus: “Recently, the hike of school fees at the University of Ibadan has daunted many students to continue in school. Such students would not be able to actualize their dream for a better future, but we can make that change happen with your support. It is for this reason that the Students’ Union has been appealing to the public for assistance in ensuring that no student ever has to leave university simply because he or she is in financial difficulty. Any gift, however modest, can be the tipping point that makes a lifetime of difference.

This is a reflection of the increasing financial burden on students, most of whom come from modest backgrounds and have taken a battering from the combination of the fee rise and the unpleasant economic climate. The appeal of the UISU is one in a stream from the university’s student bodies for emergency funding to enable students not to drop out.

The Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria Students, University of Ibadan, also known as PANS-UI, has called for donations earlier this week in their appeal titled “Help UI Pharmacy Students to Stay in School.” According to PANS-UI, 14 million naira is needed to support 100 students to pay their fees. The association said these are mostly daunting problems preventing students from staying in school: steep increases in tuition; broader economic challenges.

Some concerned students from the departments of Nutrition Science, Education, Physiology, and Agronomy have also taken their plea to the public to support them, as most of their colleagues may not be able to complete the online registration without financial support to get clearance for their forthcoming examinations, scheduled to start on Monday, September 23.

The recent increase in tuition fees has sent shockwaves among the students of UI. The university management, which gave students a three-week break on Saturday, August 31, asked students to vacate their halls of residence within six hours. The sudden break, with a race against the deadline for fees, has heightened the urgency among students and their representatives to raise the expected sum in time.

As the clock ticks down toward a September 20 deadline, students are remaining optimistic that public support will come through in the form of staying in school and pursuing an education. To many, this crowdfunding effort is a last hope not to have to drop out, keeping their dreams of a brighter future alive.