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From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, has defended its recent tuition fee increase, citing rising operational costs and the need to retain qualified staff through competitive remuneration.
Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Shadrach Akindele, speaking at a press briefing ahead of the university’s 18th convocation, said the institution needed to adjust its fees to maintain educational standards amid prevailing economic conditions.
“Virtually every university has adjusted its fees for the current academic session. Even federal institutions that do not charge tuition have raised other fees. The simple reason is that current economic conditions have significantly increased our operational costs.
“Furthermore, the Federal Government approved a new salary structure for university staff starting in January. If a private university fails to match this new pay scale, it risks losing its best hands to a massive staff exodus. To retain our workforce, we must match federal remuneration levels,” he said.
Akindele said private universities did not receive government subventions, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) grants or special intervention funds, leaving them largely dependent on student fees.
“We rely almost entirely on student fees to meet our payroll and running costs. Raising fees was necessary to avoid compromising the quality of our services. We aim to maintain and continuously improve the standards we offer,” he said.
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The vice-chancellor announced that 1,903 regular students and 127 affiliates would receive bachelor’s degrees at the convocation scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Of the 1,903 regular students, 200 earned first-class honours, 937 obtained second-class upper degrees, 629 made second-class lower, 126 earned third-class degrees and 11 graduated with pass degrees. The postgraduate school would also graduate 368 regular students and 73 affiliates.
On the university’s achievements, Akindele said its Institute of Genomics and Global Health had secured a Mastercard Foundation grant to train scholars across Africa through short courses, master’s and doctoral programmes in genomics. He said Redeemer’s University was the only Nigerian institution selected for the mandate.
He also commended accounting students who qualified as chartered accountants before completing their degree programmes.
“In the May 2026 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) examinations, eight of our students qualified as chartered accountants. Five of them are graduating at this convocation, while three remain undergraduates, including one student who qualified while still in 200 level,” he said.
Akindele thanked the host community and the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, and announced full university scholarships for six Ede indigenes, continuing a tradition maintained for more than a decade.
