Education
Nigerian Universities And Resolution Abolishing Acceptance Fees
By Jerome-Mario Utomi
Recently, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State approved a 25 per cent reduction in acceptance fees payable in the four state-owned universities as part of palliatives for students. The governor’s approval was contained in a statement issued by Festus Ahon, his chief press secretary, on Wednesday, in Asaba.
According to the statement, the reduction in the acceptance fee was in line with measures taken by the Delta State government to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on citizens. Ahon further said that the 25 per cent reduction was applicable to new students at the state-owned Delta State University, Abraka; Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro; University of Delta, Agbor, and Dennis Osadebay University, Anwai-Asaba.
Essentially, the Governor’s action is understandable and appreciated, particularly when one remembers that the governor had earlier approved the payment of N10,000 to workers for three months and payment of N5.522bn to 50,196 workers as promotion arrears and palliatives to civil servants across the state, this piece however, holds the opinion that the issue that has to do with demand for acceptance by leaderships of tertiary institutions in the country, under any guise ought not arise in the first instance.
The reason for the above assertion is predicated on the fact that there exists a resolution by the Federal House Of Representatives abolishing the demand of Acceptance Fees by tertiary institutions of higher learning in the country, not even in Delta state-owned universities or any federally-owned university in Nigeria. In fact, any public officeholder who breaks the law is a threat to those very structures of the government he pledged to protect.
Adding context to the discourse, it is factually supported that in November 2019, Nigeria’s House of Representatives, following public outcry against the excruciating acceptance fee charged by the nation’s institutions of higher learning moved a motion through Honourable Emeka Chinedu, PDP-Imo (Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency), abolishing the payment of such fees in all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Leading the debate, Mr Chinedu, according to the reports observed that one of the factors contributing to poor access to tertiary education is the “predatory admission policies being enforced by tertiary institutions, particularly the requirement for payment of non-refundable acceptance fees as a condition precedent for admission”.
He said in part; “it should bother the lawmakers that Imo State University charges N70,000 as acceptance fee. “Other institutions like the University of Ibadan charge 35,000; University of Lagos, 20,000; Ahmadu Bello University, 30,000; Lagos State University, N20,000; University of Uyo, 25,000, and University of Benin hovers between N60, 000.00 to N75, 000.00, depending on the department and faculty”.
In the end, the plenary presided over by the Former Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, (present Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu) described acceptance fees as exploitative and called on the Federal Government, to immediately abolish the payment of such fees in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Without a doubt, when parents and their wards heard of this resolution, they were happy.
But reacting to the development via a piece, I described the resolution as a two-edged sword. First, it portrayed the House as both a responsive and responsible body capped with the listening capacity to the yearning of the poor Nigerians. The piece in question also argued that the House of Representatives resolution shows that the survival of freedom depends upon the rule of law.
But on second thought, I submitted that the validity of the resolution will largely depend on how the university authorities in the country respect, interpret and enforce such promulgation, particularly, as demand for acceptance fees in the institutions of higher learning in Nigeria has become a ‘culture’ that will be too difficult to uproot.
Today, such fear can no longer be described as unfounded.
The early warning that led to my expression of fear was nourished by perennial underfunding of the nation’s education sector and exacerbated by reluctant respect University leaderships in the country have paid to similar directives in the past.
Take, as an illustration, Idowu Olayinka, vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan,(as he then was), while informing the media of his institution’s readiness to comply with the directive on acceptance fee, explained that the amount accruing to the University of Ibadan, for instance, in a year is not enough to fund the university in a month. “Therefore, the school has to look for alternative means to source for funds”.
“Someone has to take up the bill,” he said. “We have to make up our mind on what we really want. You can’t even run a creche without funds. In a year, we spend at least N200 million on our clinic contractors. Add this to the electricity bill and diesel, then you’re talking of over N800 million. “What the university is getting for overhead is less than N100 million. So where do you think the remaining N700 million will come from? Unless you want to close down the whole university,” he added.
For me, why all Nigerians of goodwill should worry about these blanket inability by tertiary schools in Nigeria to comply with the House’s directive on acceptance fee is that instead of schools acting in compliance, many contrary to expectation and to the surprise of stakeholders/observers retained the prevailing fees while the rest in absolute disobedience and challenge to the new order had an upward review of their acceptance fees.
Also deeply troubling is the awareness that school authorities demanding acceptance fees from new students have not been able to explain what the payment signifies or provide answers as to why students must pay acceptance fee for an admission they voluntarily expressed interest and paid examination fees, took time to study in order to be admitted.
Expressly, it will be convenient for many to argue that the crushing weight arising from education funding in Nigeria and globally has become too heavy for only the government to shoulder, and therefore, our collective responsibility to ensure that our schools work and our children are properly educated at the right time in ways that will necessitate payments such as acceptance fees.
This fact notwithstanding, it does not in any way justify the demand for acceptance fees.
To therefore curb this illicit collection, Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher learning in the country as well as the Federal and state governments must in the first instance consider education as the bedrock of development; that with sound educational institutions, a country is as good as made -as the institutions will turn out all rounded manpower to continue with the development of the society driven by well thought out ideas, policies, programmes, and projects.
We must also come to the collective recognition that across the world, children enjoy the right to education as enshrined by a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all, as well as the progressive introduction of free higher education/obligation to develop equitable access to higher education.
Finally, the government and of course universities in the country must not use it to deny our youths the opportunity to be educated. If we do, chances are that most of them will run to the streets. And as we know, the streets are known for breeding all sorts of criminals and other social misfits who constitute the real threat such as armed robbers, thugs, drug abusers, drunkards, prostitutes and all other social ills that give a bad name to society.
Jerome-Mario Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy) at Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An organisation known as Jesin Games on Monday, April 7, 2025, launched a new educational game, AfriTrivia, in Lagos.
The trivial game was designed to promote facts about the African continent, improve awareness about Africa, even among Africans themselves, and to better connect the African Diaspora from all over the world to their continent of origin, according to the chairman advisory board of Jesin Games, Professor Soji Adelaja.
It was stated that AfriTrivia would amuse and challenge everyone with a host of intriguing questions for beginners and experts.
The game will also be launched in Marrakech at the African Heritage Concert and Award Ceremony this weekend, while that of United States launch will come up in few weeks to come.
“Many Africans know little or nothing about the rest of their continent, and many people in the diaspora have little opportunity to learn what they lack about their continent because they are left relying on books written by historians or other means of learning not presented by Africans,” Mr Adelaja stated.
He described AfriTrivia as more than just a trivia game but an educational tool that can be used to “discover all the cultural and historical diversity in Africa through different topics.”
The chief executive of Jesin Games, Mr John Esin, on his part, said, “AfriTrivia is a game that challenges you to test your knowledge on some of the most interesting categories like Quotations, History, Sports and Entertainment, Arts and Culture, Government and Politics, and People and Places about some of the historical sites such as the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, to The Great Pyramids of Giza.
“It is meant for families to play together, friends to play with each other, and classrooms to become “creative centres of learning about our world.”
A former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Mr Donald Duke, while speaking at the unveiling of the product, praised the organisation for the initiative.
“AfriTrivia Jesin Games will fill the void of lack of knowledge about the African continent,” the former presidential candidate remarked, urging the developer to make it available for schools in Nigeria so that they can know more about Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigerian students interested in getting funds for their tertiary education can now apply for the scholarship programme of MTN Foundation.
In the past 15 years, MTN Foundation has awarded 14,728 scholarships worth over N3 billion to students as part of its ongoing investment in education.
The scholars have been given platforms to acquire relevant skills and practical knowledge to thrive in today’s evolving job market.
This gesture has been done by the organisation to encourage excellence in academic pursuit, deepen diversity and inclusion by empowering blind students in Nigeria.
The main objective is to strengthen the development of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the country.
The scholarship is in three categories, the Science and Technology Scholarship (MTN STS), which is for all 300-level Science and Technology students with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.5 (Second Class Upper or its equivalent); the MTN Scholarship for Blind Students (MTN SBS), which caters to the educational needs of blind students in 200-level with a minimum CGPA of 2.5 or its equivalent; and the Top 10 UTME scholarship for top 10 scoring candidates of the UTME, as announced by JAMB.
The application process is straightforward and conducted online, making it accessible for students nationwide. Eligible candidates are encouraged to visit mtn.ng/scholarships/ and apply before the application deadline on April 25, 2025.
Awardees are given N300,000 annually for three years until graduation, provided they maintain the minimum grade point requirement.
“Education is the backbone of national development, and at MTN Foundation, we are committed to ensuring that no bright mind is left behind due to financial constraints.
“This scholarship is not just about funding education; it is about investing in Nigeria’s future leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers,” an Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Berkeley-based startup, SigIQ.ai, has emerged from 18 months of stealth with $9.5 million in funding to transform education through personalized AI tutoring that delivers elite-level instruction at affordable cost.
SigIQ.ai’s AI tutor came into consciousness when it took India’s UPSC civil service exam last June and achieved the highest score in the exam’s history, beating 1.3 million human candidates in under 7 minutes.
The seed round was co-led by House Fund and GSV Ventures, with participation from Duolingo, General Catalyst India (Venture Highway), Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India), Calibrate Ventures and angel investors, such as Mr Andy Konwinski (Co-founder, Perplexity), Mr Christian Storm (Co-founder & CTO, Turnitin), Prof. Trevor Darrell (Berkeley AI Research, UC Berkeley), Prof. Jitendra Malik (Berkeley AI Research, UC Berkeley), Prof. Srini Devadas (MIT), Prof. Sharad Malik (Princeton) and others.
According to a statement shared with Business Post, the investment will accelerate hiring top talent, enhancing AI models, and scaling platforms to educational systems worldwide.
SigIQ.ai’s technology directly addresses “Bloom’s Two-Sigma Problem” – the research finding that students receiving one-on-one tutoring perform two standard deviations better than those in traditional classrooms.
According to the company, this educational disparity has persisted for decades, with personalized tutoring remaining a luxury reserved for the privileged few. The company’s revolutionary approach shifts the cost of personalization from human labor to AI computation, making world-class instruction accessible at unprecedented scale.
“We’re at a pivotal moment in education where modern GenAI can provide a personal 1:1 tutor to every student and reduce the cost of one-on-one learning from hundreds of dollars an hour to the cost of computation,” said Dr Karttikeya Mangalam, CEO and co-founder of SigIQ.ai noted.
“We’ve started by first creating a tutor that itself can ace the very exam students are preparing for. This is a necessary step to ensure accuracy and quality in teaching delivered. And will set a new benchmark in personalized education, making the highest-quality education accessible to everyone, regardless of geography or socioeconomic status, at a fraction of the traditional cost,” he added.
The company was founded in July 2023 by Dr Karttikeya Mangalam and Professor Kurt Keutzer, a distinguished Professor in the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab.
Growing up in Muzaffarpur, Bihar – a region where educational opportunities are limited – Dr Mangalam experienced firsthand the stark divide between small-town India and elite Western academic institutions. After completing his education at IIT Kanpur and then at UC Berkeley, he founded SigIQ.ai to democratize access to world-class education globally.
In just 18 months, SigIQ.ai has launched two products with remarkable traction. PadhAI, focused on UPSC exam preparation in India, has attracted over 200,000 learners in just six months. On June 16, 2024, moments after the actual 2-hour UPSC Prelims exam had finished, PadhAI’s AI tutor solved the entire paper in a live demonstration in under 7 minutes at The Leela in Delhi. It achieved a score of 175/200 – not just the highest score in 2024, but the highest score ever achieved in UPSC prelims history, far exceeding the typical qualifying score of 100/200. This historic achievement was covered by over 70 news outlets across India, including The Hindu and The Times of India.
The company’s newer offering, EverTutor.ai, designed for GRE preparation in the US market, has already gained more than 10,000 users since launching three months ago.
“SigIQ.ai isn’t just a regular EdTech startup — they’ve built an AI system that publicly demonstrated its ability to outperform both humans and leading commercial AI models on one of the world’s most challenging exams. This redefines what’s possible in personalized education,” said Mr Jeremy Fiance, Managing Director of The House Fund.
The company said SigIQ.ai is different from other educational AI tools in its approach to personalization. Unlike basic conversational AI that offers scripted or limited interactivity, SigIQ’s systems are highly interactive, responsive to follow-up questions, and capable of personalized instruction and feedback – not just chat.
Sharing some results, it said the technology replicates the behavior of a real tutor. Students using the platform report a 30-40 per cent increase in effective study hours while improving performance by 18 per cent in the first month, with over 75% feeling more confident tackling difficult topics within just three weeks.
Looking ahead, SigIQ.ai plans to expand its reach with EverTutor, supporting more GRE takers in the upcoming spring and fall and beyond standardized tests, SigIQ.ai envisions a future where their technology transforms education broadly, creating a new era where high-quality learning isn’t limited by geography, language, or economic status.
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