Commotion erupted at the Lagos state University after students protested the increment in school fees. 

The students on Friday demanded a reversal to the old fees within two weeks. According to a report by Nigerian Tribune, the students said they had been gravely disturbed since the fees were increased and consequently all along been engaging all relevant authorities in and outside the university to actualise a reversal of the fees with the efforts yielded no positive results till today. 

They named those they had engaged to include the management team led by the outgoing vice-chancellor, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr Wahab Tokunbo and the Chairman, Lagos House Committee on Education, Mr Olayinka Ogundimu among others. 

The university was on Friday, December 11, announced the increment of its tuition fees from N25, 000 to N67, 048.50 (representing 168 per cent increment) and to be applicable only to fresh students and those to be admitted subsequently.Reacting to the matter, the school management said the university had no option than to increase the fees as it had done because of what it called the increasing huge financial responsibilities before it.

 The Coordinator of Centre for Information Press and Public Relations of the university, Mr Ademola Adekoya, who reacted on behalf of the university via a statement made available to newsmen, insisted that the increment was a decision jointly taken by all the stakeholders in the university including the students and various staff unions and that the increment is applicable only to newly admitted students for the 20202021 and those that would come after them. He said the increment became necessary for the university to be able to meet the increasing financial obligations that would further lead to its progress. LASU is currently the second-best university in Nigeria queuing behind the University of Ibadan as rated by the Times Higher Education in its latest world universities ranking and the university is also one of the universities in the country that have highest numbers of candidates seeking university admission. Adekoya said the state government as the proprietor could not all alone raise enough funds to sustain let alone improve the quality of services being delivered by the university and that has earned it second-best university status in the country. He said the university had maintained the old fees for many years and would not be able to cope again on its mandates satisfactorily should it retain the old fees.

 He said every student of LASU irrespective of course of study is now being engaged in rigorous training on one entrepreneurial skill or the other that would equip them to stand on their own economically even before graduation. 

“So, the increment is inevitable and therefore should be seen as a necessary step to further consolidate the quality of education being offered by the university,” he stressed.