The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) has suspended the implementation of a new ₦580,000 tuition fee for nursing students, following protests by students over the steep increase.
The protest occurred on Tuesday in the Fadeyi area of the college, where students described the hike from ₦90,000 to ₦580,000, a 544 percent increase, as excessive.
The fee revision had been announced in an internal memo dated January 23 by O. I. Ezejiofor, CMAC and chairman of the NAUTH College of Nursing board, citing the need to upgrade the institution.
During a briefing on Channels Television, NAUTH Chief Medical Director, Joseph Ugboaja, said the suspension followed consultations with student leaders, school management, and the governing board.
“The students raised concerns about not being adequately involved in the final decision-making. After meeting with all parties, we decided to suspend the new policy and engage the students to reach an agreement,” he said on Thursday.
Ugboaja clarified that the protest was not led by student leaders but stemmed from concerns over the lack of inclusion in the fee decision. He defended the proposed tuition, noting that ₦580,000 remains the lowest in the South-East region.
The CMD explained that the review was necessary due to the transition from the basic nursing programme to a National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) structure, approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
“What we were running before was the RN/RM programme, which is the basic nursing programme, but recently we moved to the ND programme articulated by the Nigerian Nursing and Midwifery Council. So we are now running the ND/HND programme,” Ugboaja said.
“Now we have two sets of students — the basic nursing and basic midwifery students, and the ND and HND students. Those who were paying the N90,000 are the basic nursing and midwifery students. But the ND and HND students have paid the new fees and they don’t have issues. The people raising concerns are those who have been paying the N90,000.
“The basic nursing and midwifery students have been paying N90,000 since the school commenced. In fact, we have not reviewed our fees since the school started.
Ugboaja added that the adjustment reflects current realities and infrastructure upgrades, emphasizing that the college’s fees remain the most affordable in the region.
