The Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Branch, has strongly condemned the recent introduction of a ₦10,000 hostel extension fee for students who wish to remain in their halls of residence during the break.
This directive came after the university ordered that all students must vacate the hostels on or before Sunday, September 7, 2025. Many initially assumed the evacuation was to allow long-overdue renovations, given the poor state of facilities. Instead, the additional charge confirmed otherwise.
According to the ERC, the move was not about student welfare but a ploy for “dubious exploitation.”
“Unjustifiable” Burden on Struggling Families
In its statement, the ERC described the policy as inconsiderate, particularly for final-year students still working on projects, those on teaching practice, health sciences students, and others with ongoing academic or professional obligations.
The group stressed that students had already paid over ₦50,000 for hostel accommodation during the last academic session, making the new charge unbearable. They noted that imposing an extra ₦10,000 was “unjustifiable” at a time when students and their families are already reeling under economic hardship.
“We in the Education Rights Campaign demand the immediate reversal of the hostel stay extension fees,” the statement reads. “There is no reason students should be made to pay for choosing to reside on campus. Clearly, the university is prioritizing revenue over the welfare and safety of students.”
Safety Cannot Be Monetized
ERC also raised alarm over the growing insecurity around off-campus hostels. Many students have reported harassment, theft, and other risks when forced to live outside school premises.
Given these realities, the campaign argued, OAU should be encouraging students with legitimate academic engagements to remain on campus — not charging them for safety.
They warned that by prioritizing income over student welfare, the university was “undermining its responsibility to its community.”
Call to Action: Students’ Union Must Defend Students
The group further urged the Students’ Union leadership to rise to the occasion and protect students from what it called “broad-day exploitation.”
They asked the union not only to challenge the hostel extension fee but also to press the university on wider welfare concerns, including the deteriorating hostel conditions and worsening security in Ile-Ife.
More Than Just a Fee
At its core, this controversy is not simply about ₦10,000. It is about trust, fairness, and the role of a university in safeguarding its students. For many, the ERC’s outcry echoes a larger frustration: that the financial cost of education in Nigeria keeps rising, while safety and welfare are treated as commodities rather than rights.
As ERC concluded, protecting students should never come with a price tag.