By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The increase in charges for Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME), acceptance and clearance fees across Nigerian universities have raised serious concerns among parents, students, and education stakeholders.

Stakeholders also criticised the logistical challenges faced by candidates—often accompanied by their parents—who are compelled to travel long distances to the universities for screening.

Many described these developments as added financial strain on families already grappling with economic hardship.

They called for downward review of post UTME charges, scrap of acceptance and clearance fees and an online screening of qualified shortlisted candidates to end the burden and risks involved in embarking on long journeys.

Originally pegged at N2,000, Post-UTME charges in many institutions have now risen to N5,000, N10,000 or more, depending on the institution.

It would be recalled that the former Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in one of the policy meetings on admission into tertiary institutions, directed schools not to charge above N2,000 for Post-UTME.

Since this pronouncement, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and others have continued to charge above the directed fee.

Besides, candidates that are offered admission, are also compelled to pay a non-refundable acceptance fee, ranging from N50,000 to N100,000, depending on the institution.

The acceptance fee, according to the schools, is a commitment fee from the candidates, signifying their genuine interest in taking up the admission offer.

Stakeholders, however, see the fee as unnecessary and exploitative, compounding the challenges and burdens of securing admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), some parents said the fees are compounding the struggle for families, seeking affordable higher education for their children.

A parent, Mrs Ammy Elijah, lamented that the charges are forcing parents to make tough financial sacrifices.

“After paying for JAMB, transport, and now Post-UTME, parents are still stressed to bring tens of thousands of Naira, for acceptance and clearance fees.

“It’s frustrating for families like mine, who live on modest incomes,” she said.

Another parent, Akuchi Ahamba, called on the Federal Ministry of Education and regulatory bodies, to urgently intervene and set standard guidelines to make Post-UTME and acceptance and clearance fees affordable for all candidates.

Putting the challenges into perspective, a parent, Mr Fred Ugochukwu narrated his ordeal with his two children during the recently concluded University of Ilorin 2025 Post-UTME screening.

Ugochukwu from Imo State, who lived in Kaduna, said he had to abandon his work to accompany his two children to Ilorin for the screening.

“We left a day before the screening commenced. The journey was tedious and risky because of the bad state of the road and reports of kidnapping along the Birnin-Gwari axis

“Another harrowing experience was, securing accommodation around the campus, because no provision was made for the candidates,

“I have to pay through the nose to secure the hotel accommodation, where we stayed for the two days, as well as our feeding,” he said

Ugochukwu also lamented that, during the accreditation and examination proper, the parents who accompanied the candidates, were not provided with shelter or seats.

“The parents who came in their thousands, have to take shelters under trees and sat on bare floor, while the screening lasted.

“At the end of the exercise and the harrowing experiences, neither of my two children met the cut-off point set by the school.

“The hurdles are just too much. My money, the risks and the sacrifices, all gone in vain,” he lamented.

NAN reports that no fewer than 21,950 candidates across the country participated in the University of Ilorin 2025 Post-UTME screening between Sept. 1 and Sept 4, in the institution’s campus, Ilorin.

The university authority had said that, among the 20,220 UTME and 1,751 Direct Entry (DE) candidates who sat for the screening, only 13,000 slots would be filled based on the school’s admission quota .

Ugochukwu appealed to the government and relevant agencies to direct all tertiary institutions to conduct online post-UTME screening for candidates, to safe them and their parents from the associated risks and the harrowing experiences.

He gave the examples of Federal University, Lafia, and Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, where candidates do not need to travel to the schools for screening.

According to him, the duplication of entrance examinations to higher institutions – the JAMB-conducted UTME and the institution-specific Post-UTME impose unnecessary costs and burdens.

Another parent, Mr Beyioku Ogundipe narrated a similar ordeal during the 2024 admission process, when the post-UTME screening for his two children in different institutions, fell on same date

Ogundipe, who lived in Abuja with his family, recalled that, while he took his son to University of Lagos, the wife also sacrificed to take their daughter to Federal University of Technology, Akure, same day for screenings.

“The financial burden and the risk to the family are just too much. The government must take the bold step to stop the unnecessary duplication of admission process and make it seamless,” he said.

Mrs Antonia Idachaba, while recounting her experiences, in one of the country’s higher institution, said what she and her daughter went through was horrific.

“In 2024, I took my daughter from Abuja to one of the schools in the South-East for post- UTME and I must tell you the experience of travelling that day was horrific.

” It began when the vehicle that transported us, developed mechanical issues midway in the bush.

“We were in that lonely area, till evening before the driver got a mechanic to fix the vehicle.

“We got to our destination around 3 a.m. the following morning. The stress of getting hotel accommodation to stay was another challenging episode.

” You can imagine going through those stress and risk at that hour of the night, coupled with hike in the exam fees.

“This is not too good for any candidate and the parent amidst security and economic challenges,” Idachaba said.

She called on the government to step in by regulating, the screening procedure and the payments, to ensure no child is denied education due to financial constraints and logistic hurdles..

Students were also not left out, as they expressed displeasure over what they called “admission extortion” from institutions.

Eniola Abe, an applicant seeking admission into a federal university, said the rising charges were discouraging many brilliant but less-privileged candidates.

“ I almost gave up on my admission because I have only my mother to cater for my needs, as I had lost my father.

“These charges are absolutely too much to bear. Education should not be for only the rich, it should be the right of every Nigerian child,” she said.

Mr Salihu Yahaya, a retired Director of Quality Assurance, FCT, Education Management, said that the rising cost of Post-UTME registration, acceptance, and clearance fees had left many families struggling, especially amid the current economic downturn.

The retired education administrator said the increasing costs could further shut out children from poor and middle-income families from accessing higher education.

He called on regulators and stakeholders to interrogate the reasons behind the steady rise in examination and admission-related charges.

Yahaya also highlighted the inconvenience students faced in accessing Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.

According to him, most existing centres are privately owned, leaving candidates to travel long distances to sit for exams.

He advised government and relevant bodies to invest in establishing more CBT centres across local governments, thereby easing pressure on students and reducing opportunities for exploitation.

“With more centres, you reduce the chances of overcrowding.

“Stronger institutions should use their resources to set up centres where they are lacking,” Yahaya said.

On his part, the President, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Prof. Boniface Odeh, highlighted the financial and logistical challenges that have accompanied the increase in Post-UTME and related fees in higher institutions.

Odeh noted that, while Post-UTME examinations remained an important tool for institutions to assess candidates beyond their UTME results, the current economic climate has worsened the financial strain on families.

According to him, many parents are struggling, not only with the higher examination fees but also with additional costs of travelling long distances, accommodation, and subsequent clearance charges.

“While I understand the challenges posed by these exams, particularly the financial burden and logistical inconveniences, I believe that Post-UTME exams serve as a crucial assessment tool for institutions to ensure that students are well-suited for their chosen programmes.

“However, I agree that the current economic climate has exacerbated the hardship faced by many families,” he said.

To strike a balance, he proposed several measure including streamlining the examination process to minimise costs and travel requirements.

Other measures he proposed are, reviewing acceptance and clearance fees to ensure they are reasonable and transparent and exploring alternative assessment methods that could reduce the financial burden on students.

He also called on institutions to adopt a “more nuanced approach” rather than making Post-UTME mandatory for all candidates.

Odeh suggested a collaborative effort between universities, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders, to ensure a fairer, more inclusive admission process.

“Ultimately, we need solutions that balance quality assurance with the urgent need to ease the financial burden on parents and students,” he added.

With the 2025 admission processes ongoing in institutions across the country, stakeholders, warned that unless the logistical burden and increased fees are regulated, the trends may deepen the crisis of access to tertiary education. (NAN)