There has been widespread public outrage following the release of a new school fees schedule by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Ebonyi State, for a new academic session.
According to an official notice signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jesse Uneke, students in Medicine and Surgery will now pay a whopping ₦1,030,000, while other health-related programmes such as Pharmacy, Nursing Sciences, Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Physiotherapy, Radiography, and Optometry are pegged at ₦730,000 each.
Non-clinical courses, including Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Computer Science, Industrial Physics, Industrial Chemistry, Industrial Mathematics, Biology/Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Public Health, and Microbiology/Parasitology, are all set at ₦530,000.
The school further stated that the new tuition fees include hostel accommodation for all students residing within the university campus.
This sharp increase has sparked criticism from parents, students, and concerned Nigerians, many of whom took to social media to express their displeasure, describing the hike as “insensitive” and “anti-poor” in the face of Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions.
“I don’t understand how a federal university is charging over a million naira for Medicine. What happens to students from poor backgrounds? This is completely unfair,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
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Others argued that the institution, which was set up to bridge the gap in health education in Nigeria, is now pricing out the very people it was meant to serve.
Some also questioned how the fees were approved and demanded immediate intervention from the Federal Ministry of Education and relevant oversight bodies to ensure that public universities remain accessible and affordable to the average Nigerian.
While others have expressed their confidence of turning to NELFUND for assistance as they can not cope with the new increase.
The university, which was renamed after the current Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has not yet issued a response to the growing backlash.
As debates continue, the new fees have become a trending topic across platforms, with many calling for mass protest or legal action to challenge the policy.
