Students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) received a rude awakening when, on July 21, the school announced that it had “reviewed obligatory fees” upwards. The mandatory charges are coming in light of what the school said were “prevailing economic realities and the need for the University to be able to meet its obligations to its students, staff, and municipal service providers, among others.”

The school said it consulted with stakeholders, including students and their guardians, before making this decision. Interestingly, UNILAG describes itself as “the school of first choice and the nation’s pride.” However, with the increment set to happen at the beginning of the 2023/2024 academic session, students may have to rethink whether they’d still stick with UNILAG as their first choice.

Here’s what fees look like now for new undergraduate students:

And here’s what fees look like for returning undergraduate students:

For comparison, previous fees for new undergraduate students were around ₦55,000, while returning students paid ₦15,000. While tuition remains free, the other mandatory expenses have gone up considerably. Understandably, the news has sparked strong reactions online.

What are the arguments in favour?

One major issue that has plagued public tertiary institutions is the lack of funding. You can draw a straight line between every strike that has occurred since the beginning of time and challenges relating to poor remuneration for staff and underfunding, leading to a paucity of research and development. 

ASUU has argued for university autonomy, allowing institutions to raise funds for themselves rather than being overly dependent on government subventions. And although ASUU didn’t sanction this increase, it’s hard to see them argue against it. Some say Nigerian tertiary education is too subsidised and don’t consider the new fees expensive.

According to Deborah Tolu-Kolawole, who covers Nigerian tertiary education extensively, the hike in fees was inevitable. In a series of tweets, she explained that schools were struggling to stay afloat, with the federal government unwilling to release more funds.

She notes that for now, some subsidy is still in place, as evidenced by the zero cost of tuition. She warned that there will be more increments once full autonomy is granted to universities. This is where the Student Loan Act will come into play.

Download the Citizen Election Report: Navigating Nigeria’s Political Journey

What are the arguments against it?

In economics, a public good is a commodity or service made available to all members of society. Typically, these services are administered by governments and paid for collectively through taxation.

A 2018 paper by the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Ethics of International Cooperation, Rita Locatelli, argues that education should be a public good in light of “current trends in the privatisation and marketisation of education.” 

UNESCO recommends 15-20% of public expenditure on education. Nigeria has never met that threshold. 

One in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria. Among those who manage to brave all odds and make it to university, they will now have to contend with this new hurdle of a fee hike. If other public universities follow UNILAG’s example, this will exclude even more students from tertiary education that they can’t afford.

So while we recognise that universities need funding and that education is subsidised in Nigeria, we also recognise that it is for good reason. The timing of this hike in light of economic circumstances is tough to justify, at least on moral grounds. 

As it stands in Nigeria today, the return on investment in education is negative. This is apparent in the fact that many university graduates are unemployed. Hiking fees perpetuate the common Nigerian saying, “School na scam.” If fewer students get access to subsidised education, the outcome for Nigeria could be unpalatable.

In related news in education, the FG recently increased fees in federal government colleges, aka Unity Schools, by 122%. All of these combined will cause human capital development to slide even further. Nigeria’s prospects of leaving the ghetto might become bleak. 

For now, UNILAG students are facing the brunt of it. Other universities are watching, and they will join in sooner or later. At some point, the federal government will have to lift its head out of the sand and intervene, or we could be staring at a full-blown state of emergency in Nigeria’s education sector.

This week’s subject of Navigating Nigeria is Matilda*, a 24-year old author who spoke to Citizen on her failed japa attempts, switching passions and churches, and the harsh reality of getting a job in Nigeria even with a first class degree.

Growing up, what did you want to be?

I’ve always felt from a young age I was meant to study medicine. When I was in primary school, my father brought home a calendar that had cartoon characters with different professions. There was a lawyer, engineer, accountant and doctor. I didn’t like the first three characters, only the doctor. And that was it.

Just like that

Yeah. Going forward from that point though, I had to really convince myself I wanted to become a doctor till it became an obsession. In secondary school, I was adamant I would study medicine or nothing. Anyway, JAMB happened and you know how that usually is. I had to find another way to study medicine so I chose to go through the direct entry format by doing a diploma at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

That’s a familiar story

Midway through my diploma, I was tempted to change to physiotherapy. It wasn’t too much of a departure from medicine and it had a lower cutoff mark. But I eventually decided to stick with medicine because I was too lazy to go through the stress of changing courses. 

Lol 

Diploma was such a trying time for me. I stayed in a bad hostel with six other people who weren’t supposed to be there. My roommates had squatters and it was so congested. This made me uncomfortable because I cherish my privacy. And then there was terrible power supply, it was so bad. 

To make matters worse, some road workers broke a connecting pipe that delivered water to the hostel. So we had gutter water flowing through the pipes. Everywhere stank. I had to go fetch water from two streets away which was a struggle. All of that contributed to emotional stress for me. In the end, I finished with 13 points out of 16 in my diploma. It was a good result, but not enough to get me into medicine.

Yikes, sorry

I was lowkey happy. I was sad small o, but not that sad. At that point, I didn’t want to spend seven years in school anymore. It was just a lot of work I didn’t think I was willing to go through. I’m not about that life.

When I tried to change my course of study to cell biology, UNILAG  gave me botany instead. And I was like, “Fine, I’ll do it like that.” 

I figured that without doing a medicine-related course, it would be harder to get a good job in this country. So, my sole focus was finishing with a first class. I worked really hard and did side jobs tutoring people. But even that sef, na wa because people don’t pay tutors that well. I was also a mentor to some students. There was this programme in school that allowed us to teach students for a semester which I participated in. In the end, I finished with a first class.

Oshey

I enjoyed botany even though Nigeria doesn’t give a hoot about it. The reality is a good job for a botanist is hard to come by here. There’s an expectation that everything will be smooth once you get a first class. I thought I’d apply to different schools overseas and further my education. But that didn’t happen because UNILAG kept messing with my transcript.

Ah

I don’t know how they kept fumbling it. In 2019, I got admitted into the University of Westminster but it didn’t come with a scholarship so I had to leave it. I applied to the University of Alabama but I didn’t get sufficient funding so I had to let that one go too. I applied and got a scholarship to the University of Illinois, but UNILAG didn’t send my transcript on time so I missed that opportunity. 

In 2020, I applied to four Swedish universities that offered scholarships. I personally went to the transcript office this time to follow things all the way. I explained the urgency of the situation and paid all the fees that were required. Still, they never delivered it. I think they sent it to the wrong institutions or so.

Sigh. What options did you explore?

There’s this thing called World Education Services (WES) where you can send your transcript when you want to apply to foreign universities. But to do that, your school has to send the transcript directly to WES. 

There are backdoor payments to expedite the process, but even that didn’t work out for me. I didn’t have any legal steps I could take because this problem affects almost everyone. I went to the department of student records to get it fixed but it wasn’t, even till today. You could submit an unofficial transcript at the beginning but you’d still need the official one to process your admission.

Wahala. How did that make you feel?

I was mentally exhausted and really fixated on leaving the country because I believed everything about my life would be fine when I did. I have this nerve illness I’ve been battling that subjects me to episodes of extreme pain. It makes it very difficult to eat, drink or even touch my face.

I was hoping I’d be able to treat myself better if I left Nigeria. Instead, I was left frustrated when that didn’t happen. I also come from a deeply religious background, one of the firebrand churches I won’t name. I started having this mentality that this was the work of village people. It seems like a joke now but it was a serious issue then. I was getting panic attacks and anxiety because of the pressure from my church that felt my whole situation was a spiritual problem.

How are things for you now?

I had to tell my mum I wanted to switch churches but she was against it. It was when I broke down in tears and told her I really had to leave that she understood the gravity of the situation. 

The new church made me see things from a new perspective. My pastor made me understand everything happening was just “life, lifing”. From then on, I started having more peace. I got a better job and my mindset changed. I was no longer pressed to japa — it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen. Before, when I’d see stories of people who have japaed, I’d be a bit sad. But now, I’m just happy for them. And I finally feel like I’m moving forward with my own life too.

What lessons do you take away from your experience?

Basically, you shouldn’t just do things for the sole purpose of pleasing your parents. I chose medicine partly due to pressure as a first child and because of the prestige that comes with being a doctor. My parents sacrificed a lot to send me to school so it felt like a great way to repay them. It was also a primary motivation for wanting to travel out, to make money and provide for them. 

When I really think about it, if I had pursued botany to the fullest I’d have been a researcher or lecturer and I really don’t want to get stuck in a lab for the rest of my life. I’d be bored. 

That’s a valid fear

But I have peace now as a writer. I tell stories that matter and do things that give me a sense of achievement. When I see my stories out there, I feel proud that I’ve done this. I’ve always admired writers from afar, like, “How are you able to express all these beautiful things from your head?” I do that now and it makes me feel accomplished.

*Name changed to protect their identity