Graduating students of the 2020/2021 academic session at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, have accused the management of the institution of attempting to extort them by forcing them to pay an additional fee for their convocation ceremony.

Some students told FIJ that the university was not only imposing new fees on them but also forcing them to pay for memorabilia, which they thought was unnecessary and exploitative.

FIJ learned that the graduates’ grievances arose from the fact that they had already paid their convocation fees before being called up for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) but the school asked them to pay more without acknowledging the previous payment.

One of the affected graduating students, who wished to be anonymous, explained that after the students from his set saw their graduation status on December 18, 2022, they all paid the N20,800 displayed on their portal for their convocation fees.

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According to him, the convocation fee is so important that it is one requirement for the final clearance before NYSC.

“In the first week of October 2023, the university released a memo indicating that the 2020/2021 set and the subsequent set would hold a combined convocation ceremony. The memo specified that the new set would pay N38,500 but did not mention any additional payment for the 2020/2021 set. It only indicated a refundable fee of N2,500 for the convocation gown,” he told FIJ.

He said some 10 days earlier, the sub-deans of different faculties circulated on WhatsApp that the memorabilia fee was N10,000 and was compulsory for graduating students of both sets, and that the 2021 set had to pay an additional convocation fee of N17,700.

Shocked because this did not come in a memo, he said, some students called to find out why such information was being spread but got no response.

“Earlier that same day, the University of Ilorin Consultancy Service released a memo offering a memorabilia package priced at N10,000. While the memo encouraged all graduates to consider it, it did not explicitly state that it was compulsory,” he said.

Graduates expressed their concern over the situation, with some highlighting the quality of the items in the memorabilia package. According to them, the quality was subpar, making it even more frustrating.

Adding to their frustration, the vice-chancellor of the university stated on air that the students were not directed to make the initial payment. He claimed that the instruction was displayed on the students’ portal, where they were to proceed with their convocation payment after confirming that they had graduated.

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Another student told FIJ that he was shocked on learning that students from his set, who were serving outside Kwara State, would have to pay additional money after making payments earlier for the same thing.

He said not everyone was interested in the memorabilia but the school management kept forcing it down their throats. According to him, the shirt in the memorabilia had the most ridiculous quality.

“The vice-chancellor yesterday said that he knew nothing about the top up, yet that is going on. We have been told to pay the additional N17,700 and the N10,000 for the memorabilia charges but he’s denying that,” he said.

“When we paid for the convocation last year, we all had our receipts. But on getting to the portal recently, we could not find the payment receipt there. Clicking on it logs us out of the portal. Now, they are forcing us to make a total payment of N38,000 for the convocation. We do not have the money to travel down to Ilorin. They are just trying to extort us. And it’s just two days to convocation ceremony.”

“When the school fee was increased the last time, we did not get any memo, but we saw it on our portal and complied accordingly. So, it makes no sense that the school is saying we were not asked to pay for convocation earlier.”

When FIJ called Kunle Akogun, the university’s spokesperson, he said that the students were not asked to pay any fee after they saw their graduation statuses last year.

According to him, the excitement of confirming their graduation might have been the reason the students paid. He said not all students paid.