EXCLUSIVE: How Dave Umahi Fed University Turned Institution Into Revenue Point, Charges N1.5m As School Fees

By Our Reporter

INVESTIGATIONS by THE BEAGLES NEWS have revealed that David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu (DUFUHSU) in Ebonyi state has somewhat turned the institution into a revenue generating point by charging the highest school fees of N1.5m among all the six federal medical and health sciences in the country.

Besides, THE BEAGLE NEWS investigations further show that David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu got N4.1bn total budgetary allocation in the 2025 Appropriation Act.

The breakdown of the budgetary allocation in the 2025 Appropriation Act as contained on page 1422 of the ACT, with Code No: 127.0517021051, shows a personnel provision of N3.01 billion, an overhead allocation of approximately N430 million, and a capital budget of over N706 million. This is outside grants, intervention funds from some MDAs and TerTFund allocations.

Page 1422 of 2025 Appropriation Act

A list of federal allocations for other federal medical and sciences universities on the same page 1422, shows that the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Katsina, Katsina state got a whooping sum of N8.8bn, Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, Bauchi state N5.6bn, Federal University of Health Sciences, Okukpo Benue state got N5.3bn, Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State N5bn and Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale, Delta state got the least of N3.3bn.

Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila, Osun State Schedule of Students charges for 2023/2025 session

However, checks have revealed that David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu in Ebonyi state has jerked up its 2025/2026 academic session school fees to between N550,500 and N1, 550, 000 even as the federal government takes care of personnel cost.

This is comparatively higher than all the other five Federal University of Medical Health Sciences located at Katsina, Katsina, Okukpo Benue, Ila-Orangun, Osun, Azare, Bauchi and Kwale, Delta.

Recall that in 2022, the University benefited from the mandatory take off grant of N5 billion, which the federal government giave to all new universities.

A visit to the school showed that most of the buildings erected in the University in the past two years were executed by TeTFund.

A document obtained by THE BEAGLE NEWS showed that students in the departments of Industrial Chemistry, Industrial Physics, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering and Biology/Biotechnology, Industrial Mathematics, Public health and Microbiology/Parasitology will pay N550,500 as school fees for the 2025/2026 academic session. 

The document issued by the Bursary department of the university further showed that new students will pay the sum of N1,500,000 while Nursing Science and Pharmacy students are to pay N1,000,000 each as school fees.

David Umahi Fed University of Health Sciences, Uburu school fees

According to the document, students of Medical Lab, Optometry, Physiotherapy, Dentistry and others are to pay N750,000 each as school fees.

Checks by THE BEAGLES NEWS further revealed that at the NELFUND portal, the school fees is about N120. 000 per session while the internal circular is saying a different thing.

Further checks revealed that at DUFUHSU, if a student fails any professional exam, he or she will pay 50% of the school fees to re-sit the professional examination.

But on the contrary, THE BEAGLES NEWS findings revealed that the Federal University of Health Sciences, Okukpo Benue state 2023/2024 sessions school fees for returning students is N307, 367 for medical students and N290, 742 for non-medical scoences while fresh students pay the sum of N514, 900 for medical students and N411, 400 for non-medical sciences.

For Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, the 2023/2024 fees is between N249, 000 and N294,00 for fresh students and between N215, 000 and N280, 000 for returning students.

At the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, Bauchi state, the 2024/2025 session school fees for MBBS and Dentistry (100 level students) is N401,000 while charges for other programmes is N386,000 as published by the bursary department.

The fees for Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Katsina, Katsina state and that of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale, Delta state could not be officially ascertained as at the time of going to press.

Reacting to the development, some of the parents, who spoke to THE BEAGLES NEWS off record, expressed dismay at he high school fees being charged by the institution even as it is a federal university. 

According to them, they feel disappointed at the way and manner they institution increases school fees as if they are private university, thereby turning the institution into a revenue point for the management.

They wondered how some parents, especially from Ebony state, will cope in this harsh economy, calling on the ministry of education and federal government to look into it urgently to save some students from being withdrawn.

A parent, who spoke off record, said: "It is not acceptable that a university that was built with tax-payers money has become unaffordable for Eboyians. How can a federal university charge such an exorbitant school fee? What is the difference between DUFUHSU and a private university? 

Fed University of Health Sciences Okukpo school fees for 2023/2024 session

"How can our own federal university be different from others? We call on management to look into it or we may be forced to withdraw our children from there and take them to another federal University.

"I think it is high time the Ministry of education made it compulsory for federal government to make it mandatory for DUFUHSU to publish their annual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three years for transparency and accountability of all revenues that have accrued form students charges."