Why Many Students Are Abandoning Private Universities

Why Many Students Are Abandoning Private Universities

Nigeria’s private universities are facing a growing crisis, more students abandon their studies due to unaffordable tuition fees. The pressure of a struggling economy, coupled with rising costs of living and a lack of access to government support, is forcing families to make difficult decisions on education.

In recent years, the cost of studying in private universities has increased drastically. Where students once paid between ₦300,000 and ₦1.5 million per academic session, many private institutions now demand between ₦1.5 million and ₦6 million, depending on the course and school. Universities like Covenant, Afe Babalola, Babcock, and the American University of Nigeria top the list of the most expensive, especially for medicine, law, and international studies.

This spike in tuition coincides with record-high inflation in Nigeria, which has eroded household incomes. Many parents, especially in the middle class, can no longer cope. The effect is visible, students are either transferring to public universities with lower fees or halting their education entirely.

To address this national concern, the Federal Government introduced the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to support students in public universities. So far, more than ₦22 billion has been disbursed to about 215,000 students across 59 public institutions. However, private university students remain excluded from this intervention. The provost of NELFUND, Dr. Oluwatosin Adebayo, recently confirmed that students from private universities are not eligible to apply for the loan scheme.

This exclusion has deepened the divide between the public and private education systems. While students in federal and state universities receive some form of relief, their counterparts in private institutions are left to rely solely on their parents or expensive commercial loans. Some families have been forced to sell properties, while others are taking up multiple jobs to meet the financial demands.

Speaking during a media briefing on July 17 in Abuja, NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, expressed concerns that some schools are mismanaging the loan disbursements. He noted that some institutions had charged students directly before receiving NELFUND funds and failed to refund them afterward. “We had to move [NELFUND] mid-session. Some students paid out-of-pocket… and institutions must refund those funds,” he said. He added that schools guilty of this practice may face investigations by the ICPC and EFCC.

Across social media platforms, students are increasingly vocal about their struggles. In several university groups, students have confessed to taking time off school to work or dropping out altogether. In a Facebook group for university students, a final-year undergraduate wrote that her father had begged her to defer admission due to the economic situation. Another user noted that his younger sister, who gained admission into a private university in 2023, had to withdraw and settle for a polytechnic due to the rising cost.

Meanwhile, private universities have defended their high fees, citing increased costs of electricity, diesel, staff salaries, infrastructure maintenance, and security. They argue that without any form of government subsidy, they are forced to charge higher tuition to maintain academic standards. However, this justification doesn’t sit well with affected students and parents who believe that education is becoming an exclusive privilege for the rich.

Covenant University, for instance, faced heavy backlash recently after reports surfaced that a dismissed lecturer died without being paid terminal benefits. Incidents like this are feeding public resentment towards private institutions and raising questions about transparency and accountability in how funds are used.

There is growing consensus among stakeholders that NELFUND should be expanded to include private university students, especially those studying essential courses. Others suggest that private universities should be more transparent in how tuition is calculated and offer flexible payment plans.