Education

Ikpeazu fumes over Abia varsity fee hike, orders return to old fee

Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has ordered the immediate cancellation of the increment of the Abia State University (ABSU) tuition fee.

Invoice given some fresh students which went viral on Monday, April 17, showed that undergraduates in some departments had their fees skyrocket from N122,000 to N500,000.

Seeing the lofty hike, Ikpeazu who is a Visitor to ABSU, directed the management of the university led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Maxwell Ogbulu, to immediately cancel the increase in school fees announced on Monday.

Governor Ikpeazu, who gave the directive via a statement issued on Tuesday, April 18, by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, said the increase which is by over 350 percent is unacceptable to the Abia State Government, especially given the current economic realities in the country.

The governor while acknowledging that it is becoming increasingly challenging for ABSU to play its role under the current fiscal regime, however, said 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.”

Ikpeazu further directed the university management to engage with all relevant stakeholders in the university community and have robust discussions before contemplating any hike in school fees.

The governor, however, assured the people of Abia State that the state government will continue to support the institution with subventions.

He equally assured all students, parents, and guardians of the university that their interests will consistently be protected by the Abia State Government.

The Star