By Ehichioya Stephen Odion
Stakeholders at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), particularly parents of enrolled students, are left bewildered as the institution seems to have shifted its responsibility for clarifying recent issues to a cultural group.
The media has been abuzz with reports of a sudden increase in the acceptance fee from 60,000 to 120,000, alongside a 100 percent rise in tuition fees - to over N300,000, igniting outrage among students and their families.
The Concerned Students' Movement (CSM) has denounced the fees hike as "arbitrary, insensitive, and exploitative," claiming it disproportionately affects students from low-income backgrounds.
While the university administration has yet to make an official statement regarding the fee increase, a cultural organisation has released a statement refuting the claims and commending the Vice Chancellor.
"A Social Cultural Organisation, the Aiguobasinmwin Movement World-Wide on Friday dismissed as misleading, rumours of a purported plan by the University of Benin (UNIBEN) to increase school fees.
"We are here to state clearly that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Edoba Omoregie, SAN has not increased school fees, and there was never a plan to do," the organisation said.
A civil servant, who wished not to be named, said she is considering the acceptance of one of her two children who gained admission to the institution, owing to astronomical increase of the different fees payable for freshers.
"The University of Benin is becoming a private institution and public school. Two of my children gained admission the same time but I'm considering that one of them should suspend her admission. I'm a civil servant where do I have over a million naira to cough out for just school and acceptance fees," she queried.
Outside school and acceptance fees, there are still other payments to be made, she added.
She noted that to make matters worse, authorities of the school made sure all other universities closed admission before releasing the hike notice. "No where to run to."
"Unfortunately, I heard some of the new intake have started paying the new fees.
Findings revealed stakeholders are shocked that a Benin cultural body is speaking for the school which is variably suggest that the university' has abdicated her responsibility to communicate with the public.
According to them: "The Vice Chancellor should address the public directly and clarify the university's stance on the fee hike. Transparency is key in situations like this."
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