Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has increased its undergraduate registration charges for the 2026/2027 academic session, with students expected to pay between N143,000 and N298,000 depending on their programme and level.
The new charges represent a significant increase from the N62,000 to N84,000 students paid during the previous academic session.
Under the revised fee schedule approved by the university, several programmes recorded substantial increases, particularly in Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering, Nursing and other health-related courses.
For instance, 100-level students studying Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) will now pay N242,000, compared with N82,000 previously.
Dentistry students will also pay N242,000 at the 100 level, up from N82,625, while Law students will pay N182,000, compared with N82,625 under the previous schedule.
Students in major Engineering programmes, including Civil, Computer, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, will now pay N172,000 at 100 level, up from N82,625.
Similarly, the charges for Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science and Medical Radiography have increased to N212,000 from N78,875.
Veterinary Medicine has risen to N232,000 from N82,625, while Computer Science students will pay N172,000, compared with N82,625 previously.
For Accounting, Economics and Public Administration, the 100-level registration charge has increased to N152,000 from N75,125.
NANS, Students React
The increase has triggered criticism from students and members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), with concerns that other universities could follow the same path.
NANS President, Akinteye Afeez, described the development as a “joke taken too far” in a post on Facebook.
He also called on the Vice-Chancellor to resign if he could no longer successfully manage the institution.
Students have equally expressed their frustration on social media, particularly in the comments section of the university’s social media platforms.
One student, Bisallah Abuhaneefah, described the repeated increases as “outrageous,” lamenting that affordable university education was becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary Nigerians.
The latest development has also revived memories of the widespread university fee increases that followed the eight-month Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike in 2022.
Several federal universities increased their charges at the time, citing rising operational costs, teaching materials and other expenses.
Despite protests from students, many of the increases were not completely reversed.
The latest ABU fee hike is therefore raising fresh concerns among students and education stakeholders over the affordability of university education in Nigeria and the possibility of similar increases across other institutions.
The development also comes amid the Federal Government’s student-loan initiative through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which was established following legislation assented to by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
ASUU had previously criticised aspects of the student-loan initiative, warning that it could be used as justification for further increases in university fees.
