OAU Students' Union notifies colleagues that, payments would be suspended

 Following the institution's management's decision to scale back the

fee increase, students at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, have been advised to postpone paying tuition.

The call was made in a statement that the varsity's students' union president, Abass Akinremi Ojo, and secretary general, Akinboni Opeyemi, jointly signed on Tuesday and provided to our correspondent.

They applauded the OAU administration for its willingness to reduce fees and make concessions.

However, the union's leadership revealed that no agreement about the increase in school fees had been reached with the administration of the school. The OAU management examined the tuition that university students must pay.

According to a statement issued by the university's public relations officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, and received in Osogbo on Monday, the administration decreased the tuition following a meeting with the students.

According to Olanrewaju, the leaders of the Students Union were firm in their demand for a 50% fee reduction.

The university administration, he continued, made it plain that the additional fees were the very minimum the university needed to operate effectively.

However, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, the initial charges have been lowered as follows:

"The first costs for new students in the Humanities have been decreased from $151,200 to $131,000. The beginning fees for returning students in the Humanities have been reduced from #89,200 to #76,000.

"For those studying in the sciences and technology, the initial fee of $101 200 has been reduced to $86,000 for returning students, and to $141,000 for new students in the same faculties, down from the initial fee of $163 200.

"In a similar vein, the Pharmacy and College of Health Sciences returning students will now pay #109,000 instead of #128,200. In place of the initial charges of $190,000, the new students in the same faculties will now pay $164,000, according to the statement.

It further stated that the administration of the university had approved splitting the money into two equal payments.

"The leadership of the union recognizes the supremacy of congressional resolutions and on this basis, has not been authorised to agree to any other figure besides the 50% increase as agreed at the congress," the union said in explaining why there was no agreement with the school management regarding the increase in school fees.

According to the statement, the union's leadership will meet with the appropriate committee that the congress had established and would also present their conversations with management to the congress for student input.

The union's leadership added, "On this note, we hereby urge students of our noble union to suspend any payment activities until a final and favorable agreement has been reached."