Post-UTME: Rising fees, logistic burden spark public outcry

The summation successful charges for Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME), acceptance and clearance fees crossed Nigerian universities has raised superior concerns among parents, students, and acquisition stakeholders.

Stakeholders besides criticised the logistical challenges faced by candidates—often accompanied by their parents—who are compelled to question agelong distances to the universities for screening.

Many described these developments arsenic adding fiscal strain connected families already grappling with economical hardship.

They called for downward reappraisal of station UTME charges, scrap of acceptance and clearance fees and an online screening of qualified shortlisted  candidates to extremity the load and risks progressive successful embarking connected agelong journeys.

Originally pegged astatine N2,000, the Post-UTME charges successful galore institutions person present risen to N5,000, N10,000, oregon more, depending connected the institution.

It would beryllium recalled that the erstwhile Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, successful 1 of the argumentation meetings connected admittance into tertiary institutions, directed schools not to complaint supra N2,000 for Post-UTME.

Since this pronouncement,  universities, polytechnics, colleges of acquisition and others person continued to complaint supra the directed fee.

Additionally, candidates who are offered admittance are besides required to wage a non-refundable acceptance fee, ranging from N50,000 to N100,000, depending connected the institution.

The acceptance fee, according to the schools, is simply a committedness interest from the candidates, signifying their genuine involvement successful taking up the admittance offer.

Stakeholders, however, spot the interest arsenic unnecessary and exploitative, compounding the challenges and burdens of securing admittance into Nigerian tertiary institutions.

In abstracted interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), immoderate parents said the fees are compounding the conflict for families, seeking affordable higher acquisition for their children.

A parent, Mrs Ammy Elijah, lamented that the charges are forcing parents to marque pugnacious fiscal sacrifices.

“After paying for JAMB, transport, and present Post-UTME, parents are inactive stressed to bring tens of thousands of Naira, for acceptance and clearance fees.

“It’s frustrating for families similar mine, who unrecorded connected humble incomes,” she said.

Another parent, Akuchi Ahamba, called connected the Federal Ministry of Education and regulatory bodies to urgently intervene and found modular guidelines to marque Post-UTME, acceptance, and clearance fees affordable for each candidates.

Putting the challenges into perspective, a parent, Mr Fred Ugochukwu, narrated his ordeal with his 2 children during the precocious concluded University of Ilorin 2025 Post-UTME screening.

Ugochukwu from Imo State, who lived successful Kaduna, said helium had to wantonness his enactment to travel his 2 children to Ilorin for the screening.

“We near a time earlier the screening commenced. The travel was tedious and risky due to the fact that of the atrocious authorities of the roadworthy and reports of kidnapping on the Birnin-Gwari axis.

“Another harrowing acquisition was securing accommodation astir the campus, due to the fact that nary proviso was made for the candidates,

“I person to wage done the chemoreceptor to unafraid the edifice accommodation, wherever we stayed for the 2 days, arsenic good arsenic our feeding,” helium said

Ugochukwu besides lamented that, during the accreditation and introspection proper, the parents who accompanied the candidates were not provided with structure oregon seats.

“The parents who came successful their thousands person to instrumentality structure nether trees and beryllium connected bare floor, portion the screening lasted.

“At the extremity of the workout and the harrowing experiences, neither of my 2 children met the cut-off constituent acceptable by the school.

“The hurdles are conscionable excessively much. My money, the risks and the sacrifices, each gone successful vain,” helium lamented.

NAN reports that nary less than 21,950 candidates crossed the state participated successful the University of Ilorin’s 2025 Post-UTME screening, held betwixt September 1 and September 4, connected the institution’s field successful Ilorin.

The assemblage authorization stated that, among the 20,220 UTME and 1,751 Direct Entry (DE) candidates who took the screening, only...