Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, on Monday lowered the level of anger in the state when he countered the decision of the management of Abia State University led by Prof. Maxwell Ogbulu to increase the tuition fee of the school by over 350 per cent.
The Next Edition observed that invoice given some fresh students, which went viral yesterday shows that undergraduates in some departments had their fees hiked from N122,000 Naira to N500,000.
Seeing the lofty hike, Ikpeazu who is a Visitor to ABSU quickly directed the Management led by Ogbulu to immediately cancel the increase in school fees announced on Monday.
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Ikpeazu, through his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, said that the increase which is by over 350% is unacceptable to the State Government, especially given the current economic realities in the country.
“The Governor while acknowledging that it is becoming increasingly challenging for the University to play its role under the current fiscal regime, however, added that the University Management must understand clearly that it must ensure that children of the poor in the State are given the opportunity to access tertiary education,” Ememanka said.
Ikpeazu further directed the University Management to engage with all relevant stakeholders in the University Community and have robust discussions before contemplating any geometric hike in school fees.
He assured the people that the State Government will continue to support the institution with subventions and equally assured all students, parents and guardians of the University that their interests will consistently be protected by the State Government.
