Governor Okezie Ikpeazu says the Abia State School of Nursing and Midwifery, Umuahia remains one of the cheapest of its kind in the country.

The governor disclosed this to journalists in Umuahia on Monday. He said the reasonable fees charged in the school made it attractive, and the demand by prospective students was higher than any other similar institution in the country.

Some students accused the school management of exploitation and called for the governor’s intervention. The students alleged that the school received applications from admission seekers above available slots and compelled them to pay N500,000 each as school fees.

They further alleged that after six months, the students were mandated to pay another N30,000 to the school to facilitate their admission into the university, which never happened.

But the governor said no student was meant to pay any other fees besides the one approved by the government.

According to Mr Ikpeazu, the students paid N260,000 before he assumed office, but it was reviewed downward to N215,000.

“This is all the students pay. I mean those coming in after Preliminary Training School (PTS). No student pays any other fees to the best of my knowledge, except examination fees or when they are going for experience, which is dependent on where they are going,” the Abia governor explained. “It is tuition-free once you pass PTS.”

The Abia governor added, “Every other state charges between N700,000 and N900,000, yet people there don’t complain.”

(NAN)