THE House of Representatives has condemned the high acceptance fees being imposed by Nigerian universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions on admission seekers.
Consequently, the House resolved to investigate the issue.
The Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, at the plenary on Wednesday, moved a motion to demand the rationale behind the fees being collected by tertiary institutions.
The motion was titled, ‘Need to Investigate the Acceptance Fees charged by tertiary institutions in Nigeria’.
Moving the motion, Ihonvbere said, “The House notes that the arbitrary high acceptance fees charged by some public universities on new students across the country have become a matter of great concern to many families.
“The House is aware that acceptance fees are discriminatory, as they vary from one university to the other, which clearly shows that they have become mere internal revenue-generating mechanisms thus constituting an impediment to the smooth process of entry into universities.”
Ihonvbere further stated, “If the situation is unchecked, acceptance fees may surreptitiously become the school fee, thus affecting the number of students that may gain entry into higher institutions in Nigeria.”
Adopting the motion, the House urged the Federal Government to “increase the funding of public universities to moderate the excessive drive for Internally Generated Revenue at the expense of popular access to public education in Nigeria.”
The House also mandated the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Services to “investigate the high acceptance fees charged by tertiary institutions in Nigeria and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.”
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