Management of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, has reacted to the protest by students of its School of Nursing over the recent increase in tuition fees, assuring that it will engage relevant stakeholders to address the concerns raised.
Students of the nursing school on Tuesday staged a protest at the institution’s gate, condemning what they described as an astronomical hike in tuition from N90,000 to N580,000. The protesting students carried placards expressing anger over the increment and lamented the rising cost of accommodation around the school.
The students said the increase followed an internal memo reportedly issued on January 23 by Mr. O. I. Ezejiofor, the Chief Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) Chairman and Chairman of the Board of the NAUTH College of Nursing, announcing an upward review of fees aimed at upgrading the institution’s facilities and standards.
Reacting to the development, the Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, Joseph Ugboaja, said the hospital management would engage the board members and student union leadership to find a resolution.
Ugboaja explained that he was not present at the hospital when the protest occurred but had been fully briefed on the situation.
“Once I return to the institution, we will sit with members of the board who proposed the new tuition and also with the student union leadership to sort out the issues,” he said.
According to him, the new board approved the fee review to enable the nursing school maintain training standards and provide improved services for students.
“Our fees have been very cheap and even with the increment we are still among the lowest in the South-East. For someone who was paying N90,000, the increase may appear significant, but it is aimed at maintaining standards and giving the students the best training,” Ugboaja stated.
The CMD also clarified that the hospital does not own student hostels, noting that accommodation arrangements were largely between students and private hostel owners.
Meanwhile, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Chinyere Onwuka, said the leadership of the students’ union had distanced itself from the protest.
According to Onwuka, the union formally wrote to the management to clarify that it was not involved in organising the demonstration.
She added that the revised fees were moderate and reflected additional services provided by the institution.
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“That amount includes their feeding and transportation to postings in Enugu. The hostels they talked about are private arrangements between the students and the owners,” she said.
Onwuka further noted that a comparison with fees charged by other nursing schools in the South-East indicated that NAUTH’s fees remained relatively affordable, with some institutions charging up to N800,000 for tuition alone, excluding feeding and other services.
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