Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos(UNILAG), Akoka, Saturday explained that new fee regime charged by the institution was the minimum approved by the federal government, the students and parents to keep the system running.
The Vice-Chancellor explained at the weekend during a virtual news conference with journalists and sought the understanding of students, parents and other critical stakeholders of the university, saying it was the baseline to sustain the institution.
Recall that the new fee regime had been a subject of concern and protests by students of the university backed by the umbrella body of students in the country, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
Ogunsola explained that if the university must meets its obligations to the students and others, the old fee cannot and would not be adequate even to provide electricity for the university talk less of other costs.
According to her, “The institution did not just arrive at the new fee regime in the range of N126,000 to 200,000 depending on courses of study, on its own but did so after wide consultation” with various stakeholders in the university including the students and their parents with them jointly agreed for increment.
Ogunsola said the total old fees which were in the range of N25,000 per student yearly were a far cry from meeting the needs of UNILAG based on the current economic reality in the country, particularly since the recent removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, which is daily pushing up the prices of goods and services in the market.
