The Students’ Union of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State in its bid to combat the hike in school fees by the university has written letters to the 11 commercial banks designated by the management to be accepting payment of fees from the students, informing them to desist from accepting payment from the students until the university reverses payment in fees.
This is coming after the school management is said to be increasing the fees to about N190,000. The Students’ Union Government have openly expressed their displeasure with the fees increment and are open to exercise all the possible channel of dialogue before embarking on any form of protest.
The Students’ Union in their letters to the 11 commercial banks, urged them to stop accepting fee payments from OAU students until the university reverses a recent arbitrary increase in school fees.
The students’ body has warned that failure by the banks to comply with this request will lead to a confrontation between the student leadership and the banks.
The letter, dated September 15, 2023, was jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary-General of the Students’ Union Government, Abbas Akinremi Ojo, and Akinboni Opeyemi, respectively.
The banks instructed not to accept fee payments are Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank Plc, FCMB, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, GTBank, Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Wema Bank, and Zenith Bank.
The letter expresses concern about the recent fee hike at OAU, which has generated negative reactions from the student community.
It highlights that the increase was not done in good faith and contradicts directives from the House of Representatives, the Presidency, and the Federal Ministry of Education to halt fee increases in federal universities.
In response to the fee hike, the students’ congress passed a resolution recommending that financial institutions should not accept fee payments from OAU students until the university reverses the fee increase.
The Students’ Union believes that by halting fee payments through the banks, the university management will be encouraged to engage with the student body and promptly reverse the fee hike.
The Students’ Union expects cooperation from the banks and warns that failure to comply with their directive will lead to a confrontation between the students and the banks. #xOAU
