THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC TOLL: THE GRATUITOUS FEE HIKE SAGA AT OAUTHC COLLEGE OF NURSING by Olabanji Joel

MY ATTACHEMENT TO THE GRATUITOUS FEE HIKE IN OAUTHC COLLEGE OF NURSING.

Broken dreams

I am being empathetic with the current students of OAUTHCSON whom despite the hardship in the country will still have to contend with surviving and having to pay magnified fees which is a deliberate form of torture by the Hospital management.

In recent times, the halls of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex College of Nursing (OAUTHCSON) have echoed with discontent and apprehension. The institution, once seen as a beacon of affordable education, is now under scrutiny for its drastic and seemingly gratuitous fee hikes.

I gained admission into OAUTHC SON in 2015, and the school fees were scary when we received the admission letter. To begin with, the admission letter was collected with an unplanned #10,000 (Ten thousand naira) which was gifted to my dad by his friend the morning we were about going to collect the letter from the school unknowing to us that it was going to be useful beyond our thought ( no complaints because we understand it's an acceptance fee). 

My image as a student Nurse with dreams

I saw the look on my dad's face and how he was immediately covered with sweat when he saw the breakdown of the fees, the total, and all that was required of us to buy before resuming. The letter was received in less than two months before the date of admission, which means we had limited time to get the money and buy other materials needed. Engr. J.O. Orolugbagbe was prepared for the fees, but he did not know that a federal school was going to be that expensive. My elder brother and junior sister's fees combined were about half of mine. there was no way he was expecting that.

My father took responsibility for my fees because he knew what he was getting into immediately the admission letter was received. He could have rejected the admission if it was something he could not find a means to pay. However, the admission letter was accepted with a strong belief that the money would decrease as we progress through the school. This was the usual  practice in other federal institutions.

During my period of study in the Nursing school, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbeshola was serving his second term as the Governor of the state, he paid half salary from the period I gained admission into the school up until I graduated. It was really a tough time despite knowing what we were getting into before we fully got into it. Just imagine what a sudden fee hike would have caused.

A picture of me after being inducted into Nursing profession.

WHAT IF THERE HAD BEEN A SUDDEN FEE RISE BY THE MANAGEMENT DURING MY PERIOD OF STUDY IN THE SCHOOL.

My Father's reaction to a sudden hike would have been disastrous if it had happened during my stay in the school. I could remember when I told him in year 3 that additional #25,000 was added to our fees as internet fee, the burden and hardship it caused in the family can not be described, it was an unexpected fee rise. He had a plan on how to pay his children's school fees, and there was no room for extra, so the increment almost caused a health breakdown for him. #25,000 could be nothing to some people but it was more than that to us, it would have fed us all for that month or more, getting it out means everyone in the family including those who were not in school with me had to go hungry. 

Now, imagine what my father's response would have been if there had been a sudden hike in the school fees. I said earlier in this write-up that my dad's response would have been disastrous. if an increment of #25,000 could inflict hunger on the entire family for a month or two, an increment of #300,000 or #500,000 as witnessed in OAUTHCSON might have made me a drop out and probably caused my father a heart attack.

I know there are many parents out there like my father who are only doing all their best to give their children the best by denying themselves of several things. Also, there are many parents with palpitations at the moment praying to God that the sudden hike in school fees would not stand because their wards will definitely have no way of furthering his/her education as they cant afford the outrageous fees. 

Furthermore, there are many students with several burdens they are dealing with which might be unknown to anyone just the way I carried my burdens on my shoulders while In school too with their focus gazed on finishing better and to make their parents proud. I know there are many parents who are just waiting for their children to graduate and become someone successful in life because he/she is the only investment they have got in life, not because they are lazy but because systems such as the one being operated by the leadership of OAUTHC formally defraud them of all they have worked for. Systems like this are silent killers. 

Where is the conscience of those behind the system?

Is wealth accumulation now above humanity? 

Is Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals College of Nursing becoming a private owned institution in disguise? 

If the Hospital management and school management can increase the fee after making comparison with the fee of the private institution in the state, are we going to be wrong to question their level of education and understanding of what a public and private sector means?

I might not have graduated from the institution if there had been a surge in the school fees while I was a student.

I would have probably been working as a quack nurse with uncompleted professional training if I had been a dropout. Maybe I would have been a proud quack nurse in a community innocently taking the lives of people with my harmful practice.

I might have been living a depressive life if my dream had been destroyed by those meant to nurture and train me adequately for my career, and finally, I might not have a person to call my biological father again today if the fee of OAUTHCSON had experienced this sort of explosion for some people to luxuriate.

This dilemma extends beyond my personal experience; it's a shared concern for parents diligently sacrificing to secure their children's education. The silent struggle of many families, compounded by systems that seemingly prioritize wealth accumulation over humanity, raises pertinent questions about the institution's commitment to public service.

An image description of a force trying to fix a broken bridge.

As a former student, I shudder to think of the consequences of such a fee hike being imposed during my time. It could have resulted in truncated dreams, compromised professional training, and even, in extreme cases, the loss of lives. OAUTHCSON's role should be one of nurturing and adequately training aspiring healthcare professionals, not inflicting socio-economic distress.

In conclusion, the leadership of OAUTHC, the hospital management  must recognize the gravity of their decisions. The dreams of students and the sacrifices of parents should not be sacrificed at the altar of exorbitant fees. The soul of a public institution is in its commitment to fostering education, not in mirroring the practices of private entities.

Olabanji Joel's poignant narrative serves as a call to conscience a plea for a reconsideration of the ongoing fee increment, challenging the institution to prioritize its mission over profit margins. The stakes are not merely financial; they are deeply intertwined with the futures of countless aspiring healthcare professionals.

Living the dream now because it was not shattered by fee hike and inhumane management.

THE HOSPITAL  MANAGEMENT WILL KILL DREAMS AND TAKE LIVES OF SEVERAL PERSONS IF THIS RIDICULOUS AUGMENTATION IS MADE TO STAND. WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO MAKE THIS STAND.

Olabanji Joel 

A Nurse, Writer, and Socialist.