Tuition Hike: Ondo Medical University Alumni Wants Akeredolu To Revisit Reverse Action

By Ayodele Oni

As crisis over the increase in fees payable by students at the Ondo State University of Medical Sciences, (UNIMED), rages, former students of the institution have said hike in fees now was undesirable.

Lending their voices under the eagis of The alumni association of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, in an open letter to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, they described the decision as unacceptable to common man.

The letter titled, ‘UNIMED Closure: Our Standpoints’ was signed by the association’s president, Richard Daodu on Monday.

The association noted that the new tuition fees is unacceptable to the common man, adding that if it was high during their time in school, it would be very difficult for them to graduate.

“The UNIMED Alumni Association wishes to express its gratitude to all stakeholders for their concerns and interventions thus far over the recently-pronounced new tuition regime which resulted to protest in and around the campus.

“This, for us, is a demonstration of the love, interest, and success of UNIMED, our alma mater, which we all share as stakeholders.

“No doubt, the immediate cause of the imbroglio is new increment in fees, while the remote cause of such astronomical increase is the grossly inadequate funding of the University by its proprietor.

“Needless to note that if the fees were this high few years ago, most of us would not have been able to be alumni of this prestigious therapeutic institution of ours.

“This implies that if this new fee regime is not reviewed as it were, many of the current students may discontinue their studies. This is very sad and painful to us.

“While we understand the nation’s financial constraints which Ondo State is not left out of, the Ondo State government should still give more priority to funding UNIMED.

“The poor funding of the University by the government has put an overwhelming pressure on the management of the university in sustaining the university, thereby, necessitating the unfortunate increment in fees.

“We are appealing to our dear father of all in Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to reconsider this critical decision.

“The university is made up of people from all walks of life, and it is critical to think about the bottom layer while making decisions, because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

“When we charge for quality beyond what the average person can afford, we risk returning our society to a time when education was only available to a privileged few. We want education to continue to be the only reliable solution to our society’s problems.

“As we are hoping that our tolerable Governor will intervene as soon as possible, we are also urging the university management to start exploring other options of generating funds internally.

“Such options include but not limited to research grants, building partnerships globally, and establishing business arms to offer daily goods and services processes to members of the university community and the general public.

“We are also seeking the support of our students, alumni members, parents and guardians to co-network with the Alumni Association and the University Management such that we can get necessary contacts of philanthropists, NGOs, and well-to-do individuals and organizations that will be willing to partner with us, especially, in terms of establishing an education trust funds scheme for indigent students.

“To our students, we would like to identify with your position of no increment as your brothers and sisters who had traveled a similar path; it is only natural that students take such a viewpoint.

“We appeal to all the Medites, student bodies, and parents and guardians, to employ restraints so that this situation is solved amicably.

“UNIMED has a reputation for being a University with unbroken academic calendar, which apparently, has been broken. Let us not break further good records with bad by damaging school properties or by threatening the management.

“As partners in progress, we continue to work with the Visitor to the University and Governor of Ondo State, and the University Management to find a common ground that will be beneficial to all of us. We will all smile at the end of this situation, rest assured, please!”