Mixed Reactions Trail Price Of Matriculation Gowns In CRUTECH

By Ushang Ewa

The money paid by 100 level students of the Cross River University of Technology as “matriculation gown fee” is generating uneasy calm in the institution as some members of the staff and students feel it is more of a rip off by the management.

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A senior lecturer in the Calabar campus of the institution called our correspondent and complained bitterly about the fee which CrossRiverWatch gathered from students and staff is 1,500 Naira. The lecturer described the astronomical rise in the fee and change in the modus operandi as a deviation from the old practice.

The lecturer maintains that “Back in the days, students use to pay for the gowns as a sort of caution or collateral with their funds returned to them upon returning the matriculation gowns. When the idea of not returning the fee to the students began, there was no strong kick against it and the institution has continued making money from them with some rates so exorbitant. The amount is too much for a piece of cloth an individual uses for less than two hours”.

When CrossRiverWatch visited the institution, students could be seen paying for the gowns at the five faculty offices. Some were audibly condemning the fee while their colleagues simply tagged it as ‘long overdue’ since examinations will be less than a fortnight away from the August 12 matriculation date.

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