The management of the University of Calabar has announced an increase in the university’s tuition fees for undergraduates by over 100 per cent.

The announcement was made in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Monday.

In the statement by the institution’s spokesman, Mr Effiong Eyo, it said the upward review of the fees was taken at an emergency meeting of the university’s Senate on Friday.

The release disclosed that the implementation of the upward review will take effect in the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 academic sessions.

The increment means that freshers, returning students, and final-year students for the non-science courses are expected to pay N111,000, N91,500, and N114,000, respectively.

In addition, they are also to pay N36,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively, as third-party dues.

Similarly, fees for science courses were increased to N155,000, N125,000, and N148,000, respectively, for freshers, returning students, and final-year students.

Likewise, they are also to pay N38,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively, as third-party dues.

Prior to the increment, tuition fees for an average student, depending on the department, were N64,050 for freshers, N52,050 for final-year students, and N49,500 for returning students.

The management noted that the increment was necessitated by the current economic realities and the need to maintain the academic standard the university is known for.

The father of Sylvester Oromoni Junior, the late student of Dowen College, has continued the quest for justice, two years after his son’s passing.

Oromoni Junior died in November 2021 after he was alleged to have been beaten by five of his colleagues.

Dowen College dismissed the claim, alleging that the boy sustained injuries playing football with his friends.

Oromoni’s father told newsmen on Thursday that the corpse of the deceased boy is still in the morgue after two years.

“As the father of the deceased, I cannot be tired or discouraged from pursuing justice as I have promised my son to get him justice even if it will take thirty years to achieve it,” the bereaved added.

“Thursday, November 30, 2023, makes it two years since the demise of my son and the body is still in the morgue, yet to be buried.”

Sylvester Oromoni Junior died on November 30, 2021.

In January 2022, an initial autopsy declared that Oromoni died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication” but the result was later discredited.

The department of public prosecution (DPP) in Lagos released a second result ruling that Oromoni died naturally.

The case has been in court since 2022 and the bereaved family is vowing to pursue the matter up to the apex court.

Oromoni’s mother has said that her son had no health challenges before the Dowen incident.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed January 15 as the date for the commencement of its 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration.

The board also rolled out some other major dates for its 2024 activities.

Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s head of public affairs, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the board announced that registration for its 2024 UTME will be held between January 15 and February 26.

The board said the conduct of the UTME itself would commence on March 19 and end on April 29, 2024.

JAMB also fixed March 7 for the conduct of its optional mock UTME.

The exam body said all candidates are expected to print their examination slips as from April 10, 2024.

JAMB had previously said it would conduct a pilot test on its Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative ahead of next year’s examination.

The BYOD initiative will allow UTME candidates to write the exam on their personal phones and tablet computers at the testing centre.

Benjamin called on all prospective candidates to prepare for the initiative which he said would reshape the e-testing landscape.

“I urge all prospective candidates to start practising with the devices they intend to use in the coming UTME, prior to which a pilot test will be conducted to aid the smooth implementation of the project,” he added.