As public tertiary institutions continue post-UTME screenings and begin releasing admission lists for the 2025/2026 academic session, a growing number of newly admitted students are already grappling with a quiet but pressing financial burden: the mandatory payment of acceptance fees
These fees, which range from ₦20,000 to as much as ₦100,000, have become a fixed requirement across several federal and state institutions. Students are often required to pay within a short deadline, typically between 48 and 72 hours, or risk forfeiting their admission.
Acceptance fees, which are compulsory and non-refundable, have increasingly become a barrier for students from low-income households, particularly those in rural communities who already struggle to afford the rising cost of tuition and basic living expenses.
After navigating a long and often stressful academic journey, including the costs of registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), sitting the post UTME screening, and finally securing admission, students are met with yet another hurdle: an acceptance fee that determines whether they can proceed or be left behind.
An investigation by Nigeria Education News revealed that acceptance fees for the 2024/2025 academic session vary significantly across public universities in Nigeria. At the University of Benin (UNIBEN), students are charged between ₦60,000 and ₦80,000, while the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) collects between ₦40,000 and ₦45,000. Lagos State University (LASU) and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) charge ₦30,000 each. At the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the fee stands at ₦20,000, whereas the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) has the highest fee on the list, demanding ₦100,000 for MBBS in the 2025/2026 academic session.
In many institutions, the fees vary based on faculty or department. Professional courses such as Medicine, Law, and Engineering often attract the highest rates.
According to data from the Federal Ministry of Education, over 600,000 candidates are admitted into Nigerian universities annually through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). At an average acceptance fee of ₦30,000 per student, public universities could be generating well over ₦18 billion annually, even before any tuition or registration fees are paid.
The widespread imposition of acceptance fees is rooted in the chronic underfunding of Nigeria’s public universities. With limited allocations from the government and infrastructure support primarily coming from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), many institutions have turned to internal revenue generation strategies to remain operational. Acceptance fees have, unfortunately, become one of those strategies.
Public universities, supported by taxpayers, should not shift the financial burden onto students, especially in a country grappling with economic instability, rising inflation, and widespread poverty.
In contrast, most universities in Europe do not charge separate acceptance fees. Instead, students confirm their admission by enrolling or paying a tuition deposit, which is typically deducted from the total cost of study. These systems often include refund policies and financial aid options to support students facing financial difficulty.
The Nigerian model offers neither refund options nor financial aid flexibility. Worse still, there is no clear explanation of how the funds are used. Students who cannot pay within the stipulated time lose their admission, regardless of merit.
The consequences are far-reaching. Thousands of students from disadvantaged backgrounds are forced to borrow, seek emergency help, or lose their admission entirely. For many families already burdened by inflation and the high cost of living, acceptance fees become the final obstacle — turning long-awaited admission offers into heartbreak.
Although these fees may have been introduced as a temporary solution to support underfunded universities, they are now shutting the door on access to higher education for those who need it most. If the government adequately funded public universities, there would be no need for institutions to impose such fees on already struggling students.
The federal and state governments should increase funding for public universities and abolish acceptance fee payments altogether. Doing so would make higher education more equitable, inclusive, and accessible to the vast majority of Nigerians who see education as their only path out of poverty.
