Federal University Of Technology Owerri School Fees For Medicine And Surgery

The Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), located in Owerri West, Imo State, is Nigeria’s premier federal university of technology, established in 1980 by the administration of President Shehu Shagari with a mandate to drive the country’s technological development. While FUTO is best known for its engineering, applied sciences, and agricultural technology programmes, it also runs a College of Medicine and Health Sciences, through which it offers the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme. This makes FUTO one of the relatively few federal universities of technology in Nigeria that also trains medical doctors, alongside its more traditional technology-focused departments.

This article provides a detailed look at what it costs to study Medicine and Surgery at FUTO, how the fee structure compares to the university’s other programmes, and what prospective students and their families should budget for across the six years of the MBBS programme.

Overview of FUTO as a Federal University

Because FUTO is a federal government-owned institution, it benefits from government subvention, which keeps its official tuition fees considerably lower than what is charged at private universities offering similar programmes. As a public university, students at FUTO pay what is officially termed “school fees” rather than full commercial tuition, and this fee is broken down into several components: a development levy/acceptance fee (paid once by new students), tuition-related charges, accommodation, and a range of smaller charges covering student affairs, sports, medical services, and departmental costs.

For most of FUTO’s regular degree programmes, such as the various engineering courses, computer science, agriculture, and the applied sciences, total school fees for a session generally fall somewhere between roughly ₦39,300 and ₦200,000, depending on the department and level of study, reflecting FUTO’s status as one of the more affordable federal universities in the country.

Why Medicine and Surgery Costs More at FUTO

The MBBS programme sits differently from FUTO’s other courses because of the nature of medical training. Unlike a typical five-year technology-based degree, Medicine and Surgery at FUTO runs for six years and involves extensive laboratory work, clinical rotations, cadaver dissection, hospital-based teaching, and access to specialised medical equipment and teaching hospital facilities. These additional resource demands mean that, alongside the standard school fees structure that applies across the university, students in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences pay supplementary charges specific to their programme, which are not required of students in FUTO’s engineering, science, or agriculture departments.

Because of this, while FUTO’s general school fees for most courses remain under ₦200,000 per session, the total cost of the Medicine and Surgery programme is reported to be considerably higher once these additional clinical, laboratory, and college-specific charges are factored in, with various sources placing full annual costs for MBBS students well above ₦500,000 for certain sessions, particularly in the pre-clinical and clinical years where laboratory, dissection, and hospital-based charges apply.

General Components of FUTO Medicine and Surgery Fees

Based on FUTO’s overall fee structure, the following components typically make up what a Medicine and Surgery student at FUTO pays, in addition to the standard university-wide charges:

Acceptance fee/development levy: A one-time, non-refundable charge paid by all newly admitted students across the university, currently reported at approximately ₦40,000 to ₦52,500, required before a fresh MBBS student can proceed to register.

General school fees: The base tuition-related charge applicable to all FUTO students, covering registration, examinations, ICT, sports development, and general university facilities.

College of Medicine-specific charges: Additional levies unique to the MBBS programme, covering laboratory consumables, dissection materials, clinical/hospital attachment fees, medical equipment access, and College of Medicine administrative charges. These are what push the total MBBS fee considerably above what students in FUTO’s non-medical departments pay.

Accommodation fee: Payable by students who are allocated a bed space in one of FUTO’s hostels (the main school hostel or the NDDC hostel), currently reported at approximately ₦18,000 per session for those who secure on-campus housing, though this figure can be revised from session to session.

Student affairs and miscellaneous fees: Covering items such as ID cards, medical/health insurance, matriculation gown hire, students’ union dues, library charges, and departmental levies, typically totalling a few thousand naira.

Admission Requirements for Medicine and Surgery at FUTO

Before considering the fee structure, it is useful to understand what it takes to gain admission into the MBBS programme, since FUTO applies stricter entry requirements to Medicine and Surgery than to most of its other courses:

A minimum of five O’Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, obtained at one sitting (not two, as is permitted for most other FUTO courses).

A JAMB UTME subject combination of English Language, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics.

A minimum JAMB UTME score of 220, which is considerably higher than the general baseline cut-off mark of around 150 to 180 applicable to most other FUTO programmes.

Successful completion of FUTO’s Post-UTME/Direct Entry screening exercise, which for Medicine and Surgery has in past sessions included an additional aptitude test.

Candidates who did not select FUTO as their first choice but meet the minimum score can apply for a change of institution and course through JAMB CAPS ahead of the stated deadline.

Direct Entry applicants are typically required to hold a relevant OND, HND, first degree, or A-Level qualification in appropriate science subjects.

Payment Procedure

Like all fees at FUTO, Medicine and Surgery school fees are paid entirely online through the university’s designated portal rather than at a bank counter directly. The general process is as follows:

Visit the FUTO student/prospective students portal at portal.futo.edu.ng.

Navigate to the fees payment section and generate a payment invoice bearing a Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) number specific to the fee category (acceptance fee, school fees, accommodation, etc.).

Proceed to any bank that accepts Remita payments, or pay directly online using a debit card, presenting the RRR and invoice.

Once payment is confirmed, obtain your receipt and return to the FUTO portal to confirm that the payment reflects on your student profile.

New students can only complete their school fees payment after their clearance form has been approved by their department, so physical or online clearance should be completed promptly after admission.

Students experiencing any issues with online payment are advised to contact the Director of the ICT Centre at FUTO for resolution.

Why Figures Vary Across Sources

It is worth noting that published figures for FUTO’s Medicine and Surgery fees vary noticeably between different sources and academic sessions, with some describing MBBS fees as comparable to the university’s general school fees (under ₦100,000), while others report combined charges, once College of Medicine-specific levies and clinical fees are included, running into several hundred thousand naira. This discrepancy generally reflects the difference between FUTO’s baseline “school fees” figure, which applies uniformly across most departments, and the full cost of the MBBS programme once compulsory clinical, laboratory, and college-specific charges unique to medical training are added on top. Because FUTO periodically revises its fee schedule, and because medical education costs are especially sensitive to inflation in laboratory and clinical materials, prospective MBBS students and their families are strongly encouraged to consult the official FUTO College of Medicine and Health Sciences fee schedule, published directly on the university’s website, or to contact the College of Medicine’s administrative office for the precise, current figure before making any payment.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does FUTO offer Medicine and Surgery as a course?

Yes. The Federal University of Technology, Owerri offers a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme through its College of Medicine and Health Sciences, alongside its more traditional technology, engineering, and applied science programmes.

2. Why are Medicine and Surgery fees higher than fees for other FUTO courses?

Medicine and Surgery involves additional laboratory work, dissection materials, clinical/hospital-based training, and access to specialised medical equipment and teaching hospital facilities that are not required for FUTO’s other programmes, so students in the College of Medicine pay supplementary charges on top of the university’s standard school fees.

3. What JAMB score is required to study Medicine and Surgery at FUTO?

Candidates need a minimum JAMB UTME score of 220, along with at least five O’Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology obtained at one sitting, and the correct UTME subject combination of English Language, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics.

4. How long does the Medicine and Surgery programme take at FUTO?

The MBBS programme at FUTO runs for six years, which includes pre-clinical years focused on basic medical sciences and later clinical years involving hospital-based training and rotations.

5. How do I pay my Medicine and Surgery school fees at FUTO?

Payment is made entirely online through the FUTO student portal. After logging in with your JAMB registration number, you generate a payment invoice with a Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) number, pay through an approved bank or card, and then confirm the payment reflects on your student profile before proceeding with registration.