Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has approved a fresh increase in undergraduate registration charges for the 2026/2027 academic session, with Nigerian students now required to pay between ₦143,000 and ₦298,000 depending on their programme and level of study.
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The upward review was approved by the university’s Governing Council at its 218th Special Meeting held on September 29, 2026, following a resolution of the University Senate at its 565th Regular Meeting on September 24 and consultations between the management and stakeholders within the university community. The university has said details of the revised charges will be made available through the students’ portal.
The new fees represent a sharp rise from the amounts previously paid by students, which generally ranged between about ₦62,000 and ₦84,000 for many undergraduate programmes.
Under the new schedule, fresh students admitted to Medicine and Surgery will pay ₦242,000, compared with ₦82,625 under the earlier approved structure.
Dentistry students at 100 level will also pay ₦242,000, up from ₦82,625, while new Law students will pay ₦182,000, compared with ₦82,625 previously.
The increase also affects students in major Engineering programmes. Fresh students in Civil, Computer, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering will now pay ₦172,000, compared with ₦82,625 under the previous schedule.
For Nursing Science, the charge for 100-level students has risen to ₦212,000, while Medical Laboratory Science and Medical Radiography students will also pay ₦212,000.
Veterinary Medicine students entering at 100 level will pay ₦232,000, while Computer Science students will pay ₦172,000.
Fresh students studying Accounting, Economics and Public Administration will pay ₦152,000 under the revised schedule, compared with ₦75,125 under the previous fee structure.
The university’s published schedule shows that the amount payable varies by faculty, programme and level, with some Nigerian undergraduate students paying as much as ₦298,000 at the higher levels of certain programmes.
The increase has triggered criticism from students and the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, with concerns focusing on the impact of the higher charges on families already struggling with the cost of living.
NANS President Akinteye Afeez described the increase as a “joke taken too far” and called on the university’s Vice-Chancellor to reconsider the decision.
“The VC should just resign if he can’t run the school again successfully,” Afeez wrote while reacting to the development.
Some students also expressed frustration over the repeated increases in the cost of studying at the federal university.
“Things are getting worse, this is the same ABU we recently paid N31,500 as tuition fee. The series of increments are not just surprising but outrageous. There’s no education for the common man anymore,” a student, Bisallah Abuhaneefah, said.
The latest adjustment has renewed debate over the cost of university education in Nigeria, particularly in federal institutions that have traditionally charged comparatively lower fees.
Several public universities increased charges following the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities strike in 2022, with school authorities at the time citing rising operational costs, teaching materials, infrastructure needs and the increasing expense of maintaining campuses.
Although the increases attracted protests from students and advocacy groups, many of the revised charges remained in place.
The Federal Government subsequently established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund following presidential assent to the Student Loans legislation in 2023, creating a financing scheme intended to help eligible students meet education-related expenses.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities had, however, expressed reservations about the student loan initiative, warning that reliance on loans could accompany further increases in the cost of higher education.
ABU’s latest decision is therefore likely to deepen the ongoing conversation over how federal universities can meet rising operational costs without pricing students from low-income families out of tertiary education.
For students preparing for the 2026/2027 academic session, however, the immediate reality is that registration at ABU will now require substantially more money across many programmes, with the new charges taking effect once the session begins.
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