Students at UniLag are protesting again over a proposed tuition increase

Another protest has erupted as University of Lagos (UniLag) students express their dissatisfaction with the institution’s management decision to increase tuition fees.

Students reportedly staged a big demonstration over the fee hike last week, in which law police allegedly deployed tear gas to disperse.
Media reports say officers from the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) blocked the university’s gate, preventing protesters and others from entering and disrupting the planned demonstration.

This behavior was criticized by many, yet no one has responded to the kids’ appeals.
However, dissatisfied students have returned to the streets to protest more loudly, with students from other colleges joining them.
To protest the management’s tuition hike, the Students Solidarity Group Against Tuition Hike and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took to the streets early Tuesday morning.

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Demonstrators sang songs of unity to continue their battle and persuade school officials to lower costs.

The Nigerian Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps accompanied the students on their second peaceful protest, showing that they learned from their first experience.

They blocked the school gate and performed comprehensive security checks to prevent unwanted entry.

Protesting students told the media that they no longer trust the school’s administration due to the tuition fee hike.

They said the institution’s disregard to the pupils’ situation showed a breach of trust.

The students threatened to continue protesting unless the school reversed the tuition raise, stating that school officials have been unresponsive and opaque in recent weeks.

The institution’s public releases during the disagreements notably disappointed protesters.

Instead of raising school fees, which they felt would aggravate students’ economic plight, the protesting students urged the Federal Government to invest the gasoline subsidy removal revenues in education.

The university has raised tuition rates to almost N190,000 from N19,000.

In July, the school raised tuition for new and returning undergraduates due to “prevailing economic realities”.