January 10 2024- The Save Public Education Campaign (SPEC), an education advocacy group, has strongly opposed the reported over 500% increase in postgraduate hostel accommodation fees announced by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile Ife, Osun State. In a statement issued by its Organizing Secretary, Damilola Owot, SPEC demanded the immediate reversal of this hike and also rejected the over 300% increase in hostel fees for undergraduate students at the institution. The group emphasized the non-negotiable importance of free, functional, and quality education at all levels. SPEC called the announced fee hikes an insensitive act and urged the university management to abolish the idea promptly. Furthermore, the group urged OAU students to organize congresses to mobilize for lecture boycotts and mass protests to demand the immediate and unconditional reversal of the new policies that are perceived as anti-student.
