The Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) branch, has strongly criticised the university management over the recent introduction of a ₦10,000 fee for students seeking to remain in campus hostels during the break.
The charge, announced ahead of the mandatory hall evacuation deadline of Sunday, September 7, 2025, has sparked backlash from students and advocacy groups, who view the policy as exploitative and ill timed.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the ERC described the directive as inconsiderate, particularly towards final year students still working on their projects, those undergoing compulsory teaching practice, health sciences students, and others engaged in academic or professional activities during the break.
The group noted that many students had initially assumed the evacuation order was intended to allow long overdue renovation of hostel facilities, given their current dilapidated condition. However, it argued that the imposition of the ₦10,000 extension fee revealed a different motive.
According to the statement, “the introduction of the extension fee proved that the decision was not about improving student welfare but about creating avenues for what they termed ‘dubious exploitation’.
ERC further maintained that students affected by the policy had already paid over ₦50000 for accommodation in the previous academic session, insisting that an additional ₦10,000 fee was unjustifiable.
The group said the new charge was especially burdensome given the prevailing economic difficulties facing students and their families across the country.
It also highlighted growing security concerns around off campus accommodations, stressing that the university should be encouraging rather than discouraging students with legitimate academic needs to remain on campus.
“Prioritizing student safety and welfare should come before revenue generation,” the statement read. “Anything short of this undermines the university’s responsibility to its community.”
The group demanded the immediate cancellation of the fee, insisting there was no justification for charging students who choose to remain on campus for academic reasons.
“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.”
The ERC also called on the leadership of the Students’ Union to take decisive action in resisting what it described as “broad day exploitation.”
It urged the union to open dialogue with the university administration, not only on the hostel fee issue but also on broader concerns regarding student welfare and the worsening security situation in and around Ile Ife.
As of the time of filing this report, the university management had not issued a formal response to the concerns raised.
