UNILORIN Graduates Protest over Convocation Top-Up, Memorabilia Charges

The University of Ilorin’s graduating class of 2020/2021 has protested the institution’s recent addition of top-up and memorabilia fees as a condition of participation in the upcoming combined convocation ceremony.

The short notice, the nation’s economic situation, and extortion were among the reasons given by the graduates for objecting to the raise.

The graduation ceremonies for the classes of 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 will take place on October 20 and 21, 2023.

The institution introduced memorabilia for graduates, including branded T-shirts, scrolls, and lapel pins, at a cost of N10,000, according to a memo dated October 3, 2023 that PUNCH Online was able to obtain on Monday.

It further stated that the prerequisites for receiving certificates are an original copy of the Statement of Result (SOR) for those who have already collected them, a completed Clearance form, and an ID card for those who haven’t, proof of payment of the N38,500 (for those who haven’t paid the N20,800 earlier in the year) and N17,700 (for those who have) convocation fees, and proof of payment of the N10,000 (for memorabilia to the university), among.

Aminat expressed her regret for the nation’s economic situation in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, a representative of the graduates, and suggested that the university take their financial situation into account.

“Many of us are just corps members living on the monthly stipend sent by the Federal Government,” she said. Some people are unable to attend the ceremony altogether due to transportation expenses.

We paid our convocation fees before beginning the NYSC, printed the receipt, and sent it in for approval.

She questioned, “Why are they asking us to pay again? What’s the justification? Is it our fault that the convocation ceremony wasn’t held right away after graduation?”

By requiring a mandatory memorabilia fee and an additional convocation fee, a graduate named Ebuka Godwin (not his real name) claimed UNILORIN is only attempting to extort its graduates.

“This is a cruel act that doesn’t take into account the financial capacity of said graduates,” she argued.

How on earth can a corp member making N33,000 produce N27,800 in just ten days?

Azeez, a fellow graduate and the president of one of the institution’s faculties, expressed the opinion that the graduates are not pleased with the development and that they are only acting calmly because they think the management will take action.

“For me, as a leader who has interacted with our people over the past seven months, since we graduated from school, the majority have yet to find their footing in life. Most of us make due on the 33k allawee from FG, as parents have stopped paying our bills because they believe they are now being paid.

“All of a sudden asking for close to 30,000 is too much, troublesome, and disturbing, and asking us to pay it within 5 working days as it was just announced last week,” he continued.

However, when our correspondent asked Kunle Akogun, the institution’s public relations officer, for comment, he claimed to be unaware of the development and said he would get back to her once he had more information.

After promising to call back in ten minutes on another call after being spared two hours and thirty-five minutes, Akogun continued to ignore calls and refused to respond to messages left on his mobile line.