UNIZIK Teaching Hospital Suspends ₦580,000 Nursing Tuition After Student Protest

The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) has suspended the implementation of a newly introduced ₦580,000 tuition fee for nursing students following protests over the increase.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Joseph Ugboaja, announced the suspension during an appearance on Channels Television’s *The Morning Brief* on Thursday.

Nursing students had staged protests in recent days after the institution raised tuition from ₦90,000 to ₦580,000, an increase of more than 500 per cent.

According to Ugboaja, the decision to halt the new fee came after consultations with student representatives, the school management and the hospital’s governing board.

He said students’ main concern was that they were not adequately involved in the final stage of the decision-making process.

“What the students complained about was that they were not carried along at the final decision making for the fees,” he said. “We met with them, discussed with the school management and the board, and agreed that the implementation of the new policy should be suspended while further discussions continue.”

Ugboaja explained that a committee would reconvene with students and other stakeholders to review the issue and determine a way forward.

He added that the protest was largely driven by concerns over consultation rather than by student leaders themselves.

Despite suspending the policy, the hospital defended the proposed fee structure, stating that the ₦580,000 tuition would still be the lowest among similar institutions in the South-East.

Ugboaja said the review followed changes in the nursing programme structure. The school recently transitioned from the Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife (RN/RM) basic training model to a National Diploma and Higher National Diploma (ND/HND) programme approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

Students currently paying ₦90,000 are enrolled in the basic nursing and midwifery programmes, while those in the newer ND and HND tracks are already paying higher fees.

“The ₦90,000 fee has remained unchanged since the school started operations,” he said, adding that the adjustment was intended to reflect current economic realities.

The CMD also cited funding challenges in teaching hospitals, noting that they do not receive support from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

He said the proposed adjustment was part of broader plans to strengthen the institution’s capacity as NAUTH pursues a goal of becoming one of the top three teaching hospitals in Nigeria by 2030.