Parents of final-year students at the University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT) have expressed their frustration after the university authorities issued an ultimatum for students to pay N649,400 for clearance by October 4, 2024, or face the consequences.
According to Sahara Reporters, stakeholders say the money being demanded is not for school fees but to obtain a clearance for payments which the students had already made in the course of their studies, SaharaReporters was told.
Documents obtained by the newspaper on Wednesday, showed a long list of the fees ranging from what the university tagged as Admissibility clearance to Library clearance.
According to the document titled, “List, Fees And Requirements For Final Year Online And Physical Clearance (2023/2024 academic session),” the university authorities warned that all payments should be made directly to U&C bank, and all receipts should be carried along when students are coming for their registrations/clearance.
For Admissibility clearance, the affected students are mandated to pay N77,000.
“Requirement: 8 passport, school fees receipt (level 100- final year), Year 3 clearance receipt. 4 files, Entrepreneurship receipt, Eligibility form, Admissibility clearance recept.”
For Medical Clearance students and their parents, they are required to whooping sum of N64,000 before Oct 4, 2024 if the student must complete their programme and graduate.
Other payments include: “Year 4 Clearance Fee N74,000; Student Affairs clearance Fee N78,500; Biometric clearance Fee N30,000; Digital Final Course Enrolment Clearance Fee N32,000; JAMB and SSCE Certificate Verification clearance fee N175,000; GES Clearance Fee N76, 500; and finally Library clearance Fee N42,400.”
Meanwhile, in a memo from Director quality assurance and quality control unit, office of the Vice Chancellor to Dean, Faculty of Humanities, the authorities maintained that all returning final year students are to be informed that all registrations commences at the beginning of the second semester.
The memo with Ref UPH/QAQC/08, dated July 4, 2024, signed by Prof. Chioma Blaise Chikere, is titled: “Commencement of All Online and Physical Registration for Final Year Student (2023/2024 Session).”
It partly read: “Following Chancellor’s directive to include students in your Faculty for all online registrations scheduled for all final year students during the Second semester, hence you are by this memo requested to inform all Year Four students to proceed to all of the following centres for enquiries of various payments from these centres and their requirements.
“All Final year students are to be physically present at the Senate building, GPS centers, Biometrics department, Student Affairs department, etc.
“Finally, all returning final year students are to be informed that all registrations commences at the beginning of the second semester.
“Please note: Deadline for this Payments is 4 October, 2024. This is for your information and necessary action,” it reads.
The memo was also copied to Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, DVC Academics and Director, Quality Assurance & Quality Control.
When SaharaReporters reached out to the University’s Director Public Relations, Dr Sam Kpenu denied the any knowledge of such clearance list, describing it as outrageous.
Dr Kpenu said: “I am not aware of that. We don’t print such a thing. An old student paying N600,000 is a private university or what? If the school fees is N45,000, clearance fees will now be over N600,000 what are they clearing? You need to verify your information because we don’t print such a thing.”
On the fact that a memoranda from the office of the Vice Chancellor, Quality Assurance and Quality Control gave deadline for the payment to October 4, 2024, the PRO maintained that quality assurance unit doesn’t authority to issue a public memo in the university.
He said, “The quality assurance doesn’t release a public memo, it is either within her own office. The information could come from a different area not the University of Port-Harcourt. It is Registrar that can sign any information for the university, and never in the history of the university have we published clearance fees.
“What are we clearing? There’s nothing like that. It is not from our institution. A quality assurance does not write, in fact it is not within her own purview, she does not write those things. And if they are paying over N600,000 what are they clearing? Is it not library fee of N1,000 and Maybe departmental fee of N500. We don’t have such a thing please. Discard, it is not from our institution please. No university in Nigeria can even pay clearance of N600,000. Is a school fees? Our own school fees is N45,000,” he stated.
