Unity University Hikes Tuition Fee, Students Push Back

.

Unity University has increased tuition fees sharply, jolting students and families alike, drawing criticism for what many consider a poorly communicated and abrupt financial burden.

For some, fees have more than doubled in a single semester, triggering protests, raising concerns about the transparency of private university operations, and laying bare the economic precarity facing the middle class.

"The new fees are almost double and more,” said Anania Girma, a fourth-year computer science student. “Where are families supposed to get this money? We aren't money printers.”

The fee adjustment arrives at a time when private universities and colleges across the country are wrestling with increased regulatory scrutiny and operational costs, primarily driven by the federal government’s new directive governing licensing re-registration. Unity University’s leadership defends the decision, insisting it was the result of months-long internal consultations and a sober assessment of fiscal realities.

Anania’s tuition jumped to 30,300 Br this semester, a figure that exceeds half of what he paid cumulatively over the previous three years. The breakdown of the increase includes a 1,000 Br lab fee, despite claims that students rarely use these facilities.

“I use my own PC,” he said, questioning the value of such charges.

Aregaw Yirdaw (PhD), president and CEO of the University, assured students and their families that “No one should pay for a service that is never used."

However, he defended the added fee, attributing it to a facility that has undergone substantial improvement.

"Our lab is now well done,” he told Fortune.

Meron Million, an architecture student, one of the six undergraduate programs the University offers, saw her per-contact hour fees rise to 898 Br, pushing her semester total to 28,000 Br. Like many others, she was not officially notified through traditional channels.

“They don’t tell us there will be additional fees,” she said. “We used to get payment slips. Now we don’t.”

A marketing student, Abel Tollosa echoed similar sentiments.

“They never told us," he told Fortune. "That’s why we were surprised by the fee.”

The students' frustration is not only about the financial squeeze but also the lack of procedural clarity. Several of them say they only became aware of the new charges after logging into the University website, without any prior announcement through official channels.

For Arega, the latest fee increase is "rational and justified." He attributed them to rising operational costs and new compliance demands from federal regulators.

“We made this after a three-month discussion,” Arega told Fortune. “All things come after that. We consider our expenses, our income, and also the students.”

Arega stated that no student is being charged arbitrarily, and that an explanation accompanies each notification of an increase.

“For those who came  showing letter of increase, we informed them about all the procedures,” he said.

He also pointed to Unity University’s scholarship fund, which, according to him, is often overlooked in these debates.

“We don’t just increase fees because we can,” he said. “We are taxpayers, too.”

Unity University, a pioneering private higher education institution, has marked more than three decades of expansion and transformation in the tightly regulated academic sector. Established in 1991 as a modest language school serving a handful of students, Unity has evolved into a multi-campus university enrolling over 16,000 students. Its path has been symbolic of the wider liberalisation in the education sector, with the institution introducing degree and postgraduate programs long before many of its private sector peers, and setting a precedent for others to follow.

In 2008, it was acquired by MIDROC Technology Group, the business empire of Mohammed Amoudi (Sheikh). This enabled Unity to invest in new campuses, now numbered five, launch master’s degrees in business and development economics, and expand its reach into cities such as Adama and Dessie. Arega, CEO of MIDROC Technology Group at the time of acquiring Unity, is credited for steering the University, which employess over 800 staff, through periods of both heady optimism and regulatory pressure.

Unity University is ranked 14th among local universities, according to public listings by uniRank.org, and its research output remains modest compared to that of its long-established public counterparts.

According to an official from the Education & Training Authority (ETA), who requested anonymity, the education sector operates in an “open market” where tuition pricing is the prerogative of individual institutions, not the government.

“We control the quality of education, not the cost,” the official said.

Under the new directive introduced in 2024, private higher education institutions should comply with stricter standards or face potential license revocation. They have been given six months to come into compliance with the regulations. Failure to do so could result in closure. The new requirements are expected to impact several areas, from infrastructure standards to academic staffing ratios, pressuring institutions like Unity University to invest heavily over a short period.

Tesfaye Lega, a former president of the now closed Kunuz College and a researcher in higher education policy, views the issue as systemic.

“Fees do not measure education quality,” he said. “It's by the way you provide education, not by the price.”

He obserevd many private education institutions taking the risk of being priced out of the market, not by competitors, but by regulatory and compliance burdens.

“Not all private universities or colleges will continue with the current credit hours,” he said. “They aren't immune to closure.”

According to Tesfaye, tax deductions or direct institutional support could help mitigate the risk of alienating thousands of students from private education.

“Increasing material costs and reforms are contributors to this," he told Fortune. "But communication should improve.”

For many parents and guardians, the tuition increase is more than a financial challenge.

Temesgen Alemu, a construction worker who supports his wife and sister at Unity, has his fee ballooned past 50,000 Br a semester, up from 35,000 Br.

“They were frustrated to tell me the first time,” he recalled. “But they had no other choice.”

Temesgen argued that higher education institutions should do more to communicate fee changes well in advance, allowing families to plan.

“This is distorting our pockets and our plans,” he said.

Some students have begun to voice their grievances, demanding transparency, itemised fee structures, and more meaningful representation through student unions. They argue that trust between the administration and students has eroded, and unless the University leadership offers clear justifications, the institution's credibility is at stake.

PUBLISHED ON [ VOL , NO ]