Hike: We contacted wealthy individuals to pay registration fees for students in BUK – VC

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano(BUK), Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, has revealed that he led the university’s management to secure payment of the increased registration fees for students of the university.
He disclosed that 500 students, who are finding it difficult to pay the registration fees are set to benefit.
An outrage has visited the increase in the university’s registration fees by the students.
However, the VC, while hosting members of Kano Correspondents Chapel in his office yesterday, said that he contacted politicians and businessmen in Kano, Katsina, and other states to help pay for their indigene students.
He disclosed that he contacted politicians like Senator Rufa’i Sani Hanga, who promised to sponsor 200 students and Alhassan Ado Doguwa, who asked the university to bring lists of the affected students in order to pay for them.
He also added that he contacted A.A. Rano, who also promised to pay for 100 students and promised to intimate his business friends to help the students with the registration fee.
Abbas revealed that so far, 500 students have benefited from the gesture, while another businessman had promised to sponsor 100 students.
“We are fully aware of the condition of our people, most people are not financially comfortable that is why it took us over six months to come up with a figure which is the minimum required to provide services to the student.
“We did not increase the registration fees to make money. We are trying our best to make life easier for our students by widen the scope to allow students attend classes before registration” Abbas said
He further explained that the University also introduced welfare packages for their staff such as non interest loan from Micro Finance Bank payable within six months.
“Food stuffs, shuttle buses, bicycle loans for junior staff payable within nine months”
He added that the cost of running the university is beyond imagination as they spent over N100 million as running cost monthly.
“I consider journalists important and relevant to the development of any nation” the VC said
He also said that the management of the University will review the deadline of closure for the 2023/2024 academic session.
On his part, the Chairman Correspondent Chapel, Alhaji Aminu Garko, commended BUK’s efforts for providing education in Nigeria.
“We talk of BUK because of the reality on ground where personalities produced by the institution are greatly contributing to the development of the country.
Garko reiterated the chapels determination in partnering with the institution in promoting and dessiminating news aimed at portraying the good work to attract more people to tap the resources provided by the institution.