The management of the School of Nursing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, in Nnewi, Anambra State, has promised to work with the governing board and student leaders to resolve concerns about the recent tuition rise.
The guarantee came after students at the college protested on Tuesday, claiming an outrageous increase in their fees from N90,000 to N580,000.
To show their discontent with the rise, the protesting students marched within the school grounds, carrying placards and screaming solidarity songs such as “We no go gree, reduce the school fees, we no go gree.”
On January 23, O.I. Ezejiofor, Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Advisor of the NAUTH College of Nursing, issued an internal memo announcing an increase in tuition to improve the institution.
Prof. Joseph Ugboaja, Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, confirmed the protest and promised to meet with the management.
“I will return to the institution and we will sit with members of the board who proposed the new tuition and also with the student union leadership to sort things out,” Ugboaja said.
“As for the school fees, yes, there was an increment. We just had a new board, and it decided to review the tuition to enable the institution to provide the best for the students. They proposed N580,000 to us, and we approved it, but there is still room to take another look at it and harmonize things.”
He also stated that the institution had maintained relatively low tuition over the years and that the review was aimed at sustaining standards.
“Our fees have been very cheap, and even with the increment, we are still among the lowest in the Southeast. Someone who was paying N90,000 would naturally protest the increase, but it is to ensure we maintain standards,” he said.
Ugboaja also responded to complaints regarding accommodation prices, stating that the institution does not own dormitories.
“Most of the hostels around are privately owned, and the arrangements are between the students and the owners,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Chinyere Onwuka, the institution’s public relations officer, stated that the leadership of the student union had distanced themselves from the protest.
“They wrote to us, and I have the letter here. I don’t know those who organized or led the protest,” Onwuka said.
She argued that the reviewed costs remained reasonable, stating that the amount covered students’ meals and transportation during clinical placements, including excursions to Enugu.
According to her, a comparison with other nursing schools in the South-East revealed that NAUTH’s prices remained comparatively inexpensive.
“Some institutions charge as much as N800,000 for old students, and that is even without feeding,” she added.
