"What Are The Cheapest Universities I Can Apply To?" UTME Candidate Asks, Expert Reacts

• A UTME candidate who spoke on the condition of anonymity has requested the cheapest public university in Nigeria ahead of his 2025 examination
• He had lost his father, and his mother could barely provide two time daily square meals for him and his siblings, but he is determined to work and prepare for his education career in 2025
• However, an educationist, Osunwoye Samuel, suggested that OAU is still the cheapest public university that the candidate can work toward in writing his next JAMB exam

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

A Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate is looking for the cheapest universities he can apply to while planning to obtain the next Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) form.

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"My father died as an artisan, and he had no property for us to rely on. My mother, now a single mother raising four children (me and my siblings) and a widow, could not afford expensive higher institutions based on our current reality.

"I had to suspend my plan to write the 2024 UTME because we have not been able to afford two square meals per day, except for my younger ones. My mother and I are trying to ensure they don't look elsewhere for survival so they do not go astray.

"I am planning to double my efforts ahead of the 2025 UTME. I am ready to take up any menial job that will allow me to read and as well make little savings for my academic career. But I would like to know the cheapest universities I can apply to with the current Nigeria realities."

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Cheapest university for UTME student: Educationist Samuel advises

The educationist, Osunwoye Olusegun Samuel, is a director at Best Legacy Heritage College, a continuing education centre at Ile-Ife in Osun state.

"To the best of my knowledge, OAU (Obafemi Awolowo University) is one of the cheapest Federal Universities and has a reliable payment of school fees. They don't increase school fees often," Samuel said.

However, a check by Legit.ng showed that OAU joined other federal and state universities that have increased their tuition fees by over 100 per cent.

Following the signing of the student loan bill by President Bola Tinubu, OAU also increased its tuition fee from an average of N30,000 to N150,000 for fresh students, while returning students pay about N80,000 on average.

However, the new increase indicated that OAU still has the lowest rate in the country, considering the recent increment in other federal universities.

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Universities that have increased tuition fees

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Tinubu signed the Student Loan Bill into law within his first week as Nigerian President, and the development has triggered an increase in school fees nationwide.

The hardship on parents and students who practically sponsored themselves is multiplied by removing fuel subsidies and stopping the multiple exchange rates.

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Source: Legit.ng