Great Ife Students' Union Requests Fee Collection Suspension In Response to Fee Hike

By Fadipe Oluwatimileyin

Amidst the recent fee hike in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, the Great Ife Students' Union has taken an assertive step by addressing various financial institutions, demanding a temporary suspension of student fee collections.

In response to their dissatisfaction with the recent fee increase, following a stakeholders' meeting, the report outlines the unanimous resolution among students to withhold fee payments until the university management revises the fee hike.

The students' union further asserts that the fee increment was implemented without considering the prevailing economic conditions and contradicts directives from the House of Representatives, the Presidency, and the Federal Ministry of Education, all of which mandated a freeze on fee hikes in federal universities. This move aims to exert pressure on the university management to reconsider their decision.

Following the stakeholders' meeting, the union indicates that the letter has been sent to multiple financial institutions, including Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank Plc, FCMB, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, GTBank, Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, and UBA.

In their press release, the students' union emphasizes that a failure to comply with their request may lead to confrontations between the student body and the financial institutions involved.

In their concluding remarks, they further stress that the decision now rests in the hands of these financial institutions on campus, as they must weigh the options of complying with the students' appeal or potentially facing challenging situations.