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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Education / Huge Tuition: Admited Candidates Shun LASU Admission (1067 Views)
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Huge Tuition: Admited Candidates Shun LASU Admission by SOUTHSOUTH1: 5:17pm On Apr 06, 2012 |
The decision of the Lagos State Government to hike tuition by over 700 per cent in its university has lowered enrolment as only 1,951 of the 4,903 candidates offered admission by the institution participated in the university’s matriculation last Monday, SEGUN OLUGBILE reports The new tuition regime introduced by the Lagos State University, Ojo, has started to take its toll on enrolment in the institution. Though the institution offered admission to 4,903 candidates for the 2011/2012 session, only 1,951 accepted the offer. Before the institution held its matriculation last week, it extended its registration deadline thrice to give room for more candidates to pay. Even after the matriculation, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, had ordered the immediate reopening of the institution’s registration portal to allow candidates who were earlier rejected on the basis of deficiency in the requirements of the chosen courses in some departments, but who met the entering requirements of the related courses in cognate faculties or departments, to make up for the shortfall. Some of the candidates offered admission but that could not meet the financial obligation said the huge tuition charged by the Lagos State- owned university was responsible for their decision to reject the offer. The visitation panel set up by the state government had among other recommendations advised the state government to jerk up tuition to shore up the finances of the university established in 1983. Under the new tuition regime, students pay between N193, 750 and N348, 750 tuition per session depending on the programme. For instance, under the new tuition regime recommended by the visitation panel and approved by the state government, students in the College of Medicine pay N348, 750 each per session while their counterparts in the faculties of arts and education pay N193, 750 each. However, students in the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences pay N223, 750 each per session; those undergoing degree in Law, N248,750; while students in faculties of communication and transport pay N238,750 each. Students in the Faculty of Science are charged N258, 750 each; while those in faculty of engineering pay N298, 750, each per session. Before this new fee regime, each student of LASU pays N25, 000 per session. The new tuition regime started with the newly admitted students. However, the university’s spokesperson, Dr. Sola Fosudo, said he was not in a position to know why a candidate would accept or reject provisional admission. “You are asking your questions with a mind full of blackmail. There is nothing wrong if less than half of those offered admission accepted the offer. That is not our problem. Everybody has a right to accept or reject the offer and I would not know why a candidate rejects admission offer,” he said. He also refused to attribute the candidates’ refusal to accept their admission to lack of physical and academic facilities in the institution. He said, “Are they saying there are no lecturers in LASU? Are they saying there are no books in the library? What academic facilities are they talking about? Do they want us to build lecture theatres within a month or is it possible for anybody to build a house in a month? This is not a telephone matter, come to LASU and see the level of work we are doing.” When told that our correspondent had been to the campus and most of the projects were not completed yet, he said the university and the state government were committed to repositioning the institution. At the main campus of the institution, our correspondent discovered that work was still going on at the Faculty of Science complex, the law library; while sources close to the institution’s registrar said that approval had been given for a new Senate Building. However, the university library, which can only sit less than 500 students, still house some outdated books, while laboratory equipment are still in short supply in the Faculty of Science However, a source at the VC’s office told our correspondent that “LASU is changing, though the changes can be slow.” However, both the old and the new students were unanimous in their views about the hurried nature with which the new fee was being implemented. Though they pleaded not to be named for fear of persecution, they said that the university ought to have completed some of the buildings before introducing the “private university tuition” in a public university. “Facilities in LASU have not changed. Though there are some buildings under construction, the university has not been able to redeem its pledge on deployment of massive physical and infrastructural facilities,” a new student, who simply identified himself as Ayo and a 100 Level student of Economics, said. Another old student said, “When the former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lateef Hussain, came in, he increased the fee from N250 to N25, 000 with a promise that facilities would improve. It is over five years now and nothing has changed. If the state government is broke, they should look for other ways of making money, not by inflicting pains on our poor parents that are not earning N18, 000 minimum wages. Is LASU a private university?” the 300 level Law students who pleaded anonymity said. However, the new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, while speaking at the matriculation of the new students last Monday, reiterated the university’s commitment to the provision of adequate facilities that would enhance teaching, learning and research in the institution. He confirmed that of the 4,903 candidates offered admission, only 1,951 matriculated. “A total of 4,903 candidates were offered admission for the 2011/2012 academic session. However, 1,951 candidates have been cleared for matriculation,” he said. The VC also told the students that the state government had promised to support the institution’s development with a sum of N20bn. Despite the VC’s assurances, some new students who spoke with our correspondent described the state of infrastructure at the institution as a blot on the Lagos State landscape. “I’ve just been admitted to the Faculty of Engineering. I’ve paid about N300, 000 but what I’ve seen in the faculty and around the campus is worrisome. The environment is bad; facilities in the workshop are terribly inadequate,” a student, who just described himself as a 20 year-old engineering student said. However, the story of Ademola, who lost his father three years ago, was pathetic. He refused to mention his surname. But he said his mother, who was selling roast plantain around Egbeda had to sell all she had to raise the N240, 000 to pay his tuition. “I was admitted to study Mass Communication. I was so happy when I eventually got the admission because I’ve been looking for admission for over three years. But I was surprised when I came and I was told to go and pay almost 240,000. I went back home sad. But my mother brought out all her life savings and also borrowed from her people to pay the tuition. I pray that God will help me to complete my education here,” he said. However, a lady who identified herself as Laitan Adesanya lost her admission because she could not pay the tuition. “When I told my father about the admission, he was happy but when the issue of tuition came up, he could not believe me. He said LASU could not charge that much since it belonged to the state government. When my parents found out that I was saying the truth, they just advised me to go and look for job and do part-time,” she said. Some of the new students also complained that in spite of inadequate facilities, the work ethics of some lecturers and non-academic members of staff still left little to be desired. “Since we resumed, some of our lecturers have not been coming to class regularly. The environment is not too conducive for learning, most especially when rain falls everywhere will be waterlogged and messy. They should do something urgent so that standard and facilities would be commensurate with the huge tuition we are paying,” a 100 Level student of Physics said. Though efforts to speak with the Dean, Student Affairs, Dr. Kabir Akinyemi, failed, a source in his office told our correspondent that the institution was working hard to improve the welfare of the students. “Yes, they pay huge tuition. They should be patient with the management. Things will improve soon. At least, we have given most of the new students their identity cards, most of their seniors don’t have theirs,” the source said. |
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