The University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, has denied reports that it increased tuition fees, describing the claims circulating on social media as false and misleading.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, said on Monday in Akure that the institution had not raised its tuition as alleged.
“There are a lot of incorrect narratives in some sections of the media on tuition at UNIMED,” she said. “We find the incorrect depiction of fees for our programmes by some fifth columnists hiding under the media as an attempt to discredit a rapidly growing institution.”
Professor Adejuyigbe explained that while there was an earlier adjustment for new students to reflect current economic realities, there had been no recent fee increase.
“Let me set the records straight that the university did not increase fees across the board as it is being peddled. We only adjusted the fees of freshers to be able to give them the best in the face of the current economic realities,” she said.
She added that the institution’s fee structure remains transparent and publicly available. “Our fees are available on the university website for all to see. They are competitive compared to other institutions and highly subsidised by the Ondo State government,” she said.
On the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Vice Chancellor revealed that UNIMED had submitted names of verified students for inclusion in the programme. “Last year, we verified 87 students whose names we took to NELFUND. I have been in contact with the head of NELFUND to see why our verified students were not brought into the programme,” she said.
Speaking on the recent transfer of the UNIMED Teaching Hospital complex in Akure to the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) Teaching Hospital, Adejuyigbe said the move was a mutual arrangement that would not affect UNIMED’s operations.
“We have three branches. One of our branches was given over to assist them, and we still have our teaching hospital in Ondo,” she explained. “The transfer does not mean we cannot have access to the facilities. Our students and lecturers will still use the laboratories and training equipment as agreed in the MoU.”
