While most tertiary institution in Nigeria have increase their tuition fees under the pretence of fuel subsidy removal, the management of the Wesley University, Ondo town in Ondo State, the higher institution owned by the Methodist Church of Nigeria, has announced the reduction of its tuition fees by 50 per cent.
The institution said the development was part of its efforts towards contributing to the development of humankind.
Professor Samuel Obeka, the institution’s Vice Chancellor, disclosed this today, in a statement, made available to the Punch correspondent.
Professor Obeka said the 50 per cent discount in tuition fees is for some of the programmes in the departments of Natural and Applied Sciences, Education, Agriculture, Finance and investment and Economics of the institution.
The VC explained that the affected programmes are very significant to national development but are not well-subscribed to, by students due to their “high tuition fees and assumed abstract or ambiguous nature.”
He said; “the gesture was implemented to encourage parents and guardians to allow their children and wards to enjoy the benefits and endowments inherent in the institution. This is also done in fulfilment of the promise made at the inception of our university to give opportunity to all Nigerians for professional and academic development, and thereby, contribute to national development.
“The Methodist Church Nigeria thought it wise to establish Wesley University, Ondo as part of her efforts to midwife effective and robust national ethos and practical implementation of national development policies.”
The Don said the university offered 44 academic programmes spread across nine colleges which were all approved and accredited by the National Universities Commission.
Some of the programmes, he said, were in the Colleges of Law, Arts, Education, Natural and Applied Sciences, Environmental Design and Management, Agriculture, Food Science and Technology, Health Sciences and Social and Management Sciences.
“Wesley University also runs a school of postgraduate studies, a School of Continuing Education, as well as an Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, all ready to develop the skilled and well-informed manpower needed to move Nigeria forward in her quest for giant developmental strides, and to take her pride of place among the comity of progressive and developed nations.
“The programmes in these colleges include; Community Health, Early Childhood Education, Special Education and Library and Information Science, as well as Law and Nursing Science, ” he stated.”
Professor Obeka, however, stated that the government should addressed the issue of fuel subsidy removal and the realities of the proposed palliative measures first, instead of increasing the tuition fees of the government-owned universities.
