Following the announcement by the Division of Student Affairs, OAU, approving a ₦10,000 hostel extension fee, students scheduled to remain on campus for Teaching Practice (TP), SIWES, and project work have expressed dissatisfaction with the decision.
Affected students who spoke with InFocus reporters described the fee as “too much,” calling it unfair given their current financial struggles and the academic responsibilities that require them to extend their stay on campus.
A part 4 student of the Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, and a Teaching Practice student, said she was shocked when she saw the announcement.
“It’s actually too much. Even last year, we paid ₦5,000, which was at least manageable. Why pay ₦10,000 now? We’ve already paid school fees, and teaching practice is not even our choice. We can’t go from home because of the distance. They should even be charging less, not more.”
Ana, a Part 3 student of Educational Management and a Teaching Practice student, described the fee as outrageous.
“It’s challenging to raise. We still need to feed. Where do they expect us to get that money from? For just six weeks of teaching practice, ₦10,000 is unreasonable. At least, it should be ₦5,000.”
Also, Omotoyosi, studying English in the Department of Arts and Social Science Education, thinks students should not pay for the extended stay since it is for academic purposes.
“This scheme sounds like extortion to me. I see no reason students should pay extra for a short stay to observe a programme mandated by the school. The directive is exploitative.”
A part 4 Mechanical Engineering student, currently on SIWES, expressed his thoughts.
“The ₦10,000 is too much. If transport off-campus isn’t expensive, I’d rather stay outside than pay. However, if it turns out to be more costly, I may have no choice. What’s painful is that some students are being delayed, not by their own shortcomings but because of their project supervisors, yet they’ll still be forced to pay.”
Folashade, a 400-level student of Science and Technology Education and also a Teaching Practice student, lamented how the fee adds to the strain on students’ already-tight budget.
“I’m not happy at all. We’re staying behind for academic reasons, not personal ones, so the hostel extension should be part of our school fees. I don’t even have ₦5,000 right now, and with this short notice, I don’t know how to raise ₦10,000. For the last TP, we paid about ₦5,000. So, what changed now?”
In addition to rising individual concerns, hall executives in the university weighed in through a jointly signed open letter addressed to the DSA. In the letter, they described the ₦10,000 short-stay charge as exclusionary and financially burdensome. Also, the executives argue that it places unnecessary strain on students already facing economic challenges.
Furthermore, they appealed to the university management to review the policy and adopt a considerate arrangement for all categories of students.
In all, respondents and hall leaders maintained that while staying in the hostel is necessary for the students, the ₦10,000 extension fee does not consider the current financial state of the students. Many suggested a reduction of ₦5,000 or less, while others argued that students engaged in compulsory academic programmes should not have to pay.