By Bliss Okperan
Students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) have taken to the streets in protest against the increment of tuition fees by over 100 per cent.
The aggrieved students, who marched around the school premises, took their protest to the main gate of the institution, causing traffic gridlock along the Etta-Agbor and Mary Slessor roads in Calabar Municipality LGA.
The protesters took placards with various inscriptions to kick against the decision of the management to increase their fees as well as other charges, asking for an immediate reversal.
Some of the inscriptions read, “return to the old fees”, “bring back our old fees, we can’t afford the new fees”, and “UNICAL SUG, wake up,” among others.
In a statement last Friday, the public relations officer of UNICAL, Mr Effiong Eyo, disclosed that the upward review of the tuition fees was taken at an emergency meeting of the university’s senate.
According to the school, the increment was necessitated by the current economic realities and the need to maintain the academic standard the university is known for.
Before the latest increment, depending on the department, the school charged N64,050 for freshmen, N52,050 for final-year students, and N49,500 for returning students.
However, the institution said from the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic sessions, freshmen, returning students, and final-year students for the non-science courses would pay N111,000, N91,500 and N114,000, respectively, while science courses, new students, returning students and final year students would pay N155,000, N125,000, and N148,000, respectively.
Modupe Gbadeyanka