The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has condemned what it described as an “outrageous” upward review of postgraduate fees by the Governing Council of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi, demanding its immediate reversal.
In a press release signed by NANS national President, Dist. Comr. Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, and issued on Thursday, August 7, 2026, the association said an internal memo from the ATBU Registrar dated July 7, 2026, conveyed council’s approval of the new fees for the 2026/2027 academic session.
According to the memo signed by Mal. Mohammed S. Adamu, Df. Admin & Council, for the Registrar, new domestic M.Sc students in FEET, FOS, FOC and CMS will now pay ₦543,840.00, while those in FAAT, FET, FMS and FTE will pay ₦443,840.00. Returning domestic M.Sc students are to pay between ₦252,940.00 and ₦302,940.00.
For PhD programmes, new domestic students will pay ₦744,500.00 and ₦644,500.00 depending on faculty, while returning students will pay ₦368,750.00 and ₦318,750.00. Foreign students’ fees were also raised to between $307 and $664.
NANS described the increment as “callous, excessive and a direct attack on education” and “an onslaught on the aspirations of Nigerian students who intend to further their academic pursuit.”
“To be clear, education is a right, not a privilege or a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. What kind of management or council puts learning on the altar of greed?” the statement read.
The association faulted the process, saying the decision was communicated as a _fait accompli_ without consultation with the students’ union or postgraduate student body. It called the move “an affront on a large scale.”
NANS demanded the “immediate and unconditional reversal” of the reviewed fee structure. It urged the Vice Chancellor and Governing Council to rescind the decision and initiate “genuine, transparent engagement” with postgraduate students before any future review.
The body also called on the Office of the Bursar, DVC Academics, DVC Admin, and other principal officers copied in the memo to press for reconsideration “that reflects fairness and compassion, not exploitation.”
Linking the hike to federal policy, NANS said at a time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rolled out the NELFUND scheme to make education accessible, the ATBU increase is “unpatriotic” and threatens that initiative.
“Without equivocation, the leadership of NANS will not watch in silence while the dreams of Nigerian students are priced out of existence,” Afeez warned. “Should this obnoxious review remain in place, we shall be compelled to mobilise the full weight of Nigerian students, both within and outside ATBU, to resist its implementation.”
NANS reaffirmed its commitment to defending students’ interests, vowing it “shall never be silent in the face of injustice.”
