The National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) has again condemned the recent increment in school fees by some federal universities in the country and the plans by others to do the same any time from now, ahead of the next academic session.
The students’ body asked those universities which had already announced their own increment, such as the University of Lagos(UNILAG) Akoka; University of Abuja(UniAbuja); Obafemi Awolowo University(OAU), Ile- Ife; University of Jos (UNIJOS); University of Benin(UNIBEN), and University of Ibadan(UI), among others, to immediately reverse to the old fees while the others that are planning to do the same to shelve the idea completely.
Addressing newsmen on Friday in Lagos, the National Public Relations Officer of NAN, who is also a final year student of UNILAG, Mr Temitope Giwa, said the entire Nigerian students reject any fees hike by any public tertiary school, be it university or polytechnic in the country.
He explained that the association has clearly made this position with genuine reasons known repeatedly not only to the public but also to President Bola Tinubu by officially communicating their objection to the fee hike to him.
He said, “We have let the president Know that our parents are going through very difficult times, the experience of which they have never had in Nigeria’s history that the recent removal of subsidy on fuel, in particular, has brought untold hardship on them and also on us.
“We let him also know that more than 150 million Nigerians are living in multidimensional poverty. That small businesses are shutting down. The majority of Nigerians, including our parents, are finding it difficult to survive. That our parents have suffered enough hardship, and to add a fee hike to their struggles, is to suffocate them.
“And based on this, we want to believe that the President directed all the public tertiary institutions in the country to shelve forthwith any plans to increase their fees, and on that directive, we, Nigerian students, stand firmly.
Speaking further, NAN PRO, however, noted that the association is much aware that some university authorities want to be defiant by ignoring the president directive and going ahead with their increment and implementation when the students will be resuming for the next academic session.
“We have equally not only written officially to the management of some of these universities, including UNILAG, UI, UNIBEN, UNIJOS, UNIABUJA, and a host of others but also met with them physically to let them know that we, Nigerian students, are jointly saying no to fees hike in any of our public tertiary schools at least for now and if at all must be later, it can only be within the minimum salary rate of our parents.”
He said should any institution refuse to yield to their payer, as also expressed by President Tinubu, the students across campuses would not only protest on the streets nationwide but would shut down activities on campuses indefinitely.
Giwa, however, pointed out that it is not that the students were not aware that the government poorly funds the universities at both federal and state levels, but such responsibility, which government must not shy away from should not be passed on to their poor parents, who find it difficult to feed.
“And we are glad that Federal Government itself, in its recent statement on the subject matter, admitted this scenario, too.
“So, we are imploring all schools to forget fees increment for now,” he concluded.
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