The management of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree has said the present economic realities in the country was behind its decision to review upward the school fees payable by returning and new students.
The school’s Spokesperson, Tope Abiola, in a telephone interview with OsunDailyNG on Friday, gave the management side of the recent controversy in the school.
The Osun Poly management had announced the approved increase in fees for the regular programme for the 2023/24 academic session.
The school fee for Science, Technology and Engineering Students was increased to N150,000 while Finance and Management Studies students will pay N147,500 for new students on an instalment basis.
Abiola’s response follows the reaction from the OsunPoly students and the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS on Wednesday.
NANS and the Osun Polytechnic students have kicked against the planned tuition fee increment as announced by the institution’s management.
In their reactions, some students claimed they would drop out of the school if the decision was not reversed.
NANS in its reaction called on the Osun State Government and OsunPoly, Iree management to revisit the decision and come out with a solution.
In a memo signed by its Public Relations Officer, Bamigboye Peter, NANS Zone D, South West had described the increased tuition fee as an undue burden on students aspiring to higher education.
However, the OsunPoly spokesperson told OsunDailyNG that a meeting has been fixed for Monday between management and the student stakeholders which includes NANS.
He insisted that before the increase, it was common knowledge that OsunPoly paid the lowest tuition fees in the Southwest.
In his words, “With the current economic reality in the country, there is no way the school can sustain itself with the old school fee rate. Osun State Polytechnic, Iree charges the lowest school fees among institutions in the Southwest, less than the acceptance fees of some higher institutions. This is authoritative.
“With the current realities in the country, there is no way we can meet up without increasing the school fees.
“In the proposal to the state government, the increment was included in our budget. It was not arbitrarily fixed. It followed all due process for its approval by the government.
“As a result of this, we are inviting all the stakeholders in student unionism to a meeting on Monday, where we will spell out how we arrived at the decision, we intend to sort it out with them.”
While appealing to NANS and the students to be peaceful and reasonable, Abiola added that it is intended that a peaceful compromise would be arrived at after Monday’s meeting.
