The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has voiced its growing concern over the recent surge in tuition fees at universities across the country, citing fears that it may force many students out of school.
Several public universities have raised their tuition fees in response to what they have described as the challenging economic conditions in Nigeria.
While some institutions have slightly reduced their fees following student protests, the National President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has expressed apprehension that these fee hikes could pose significant challenges for parents and guardians in meeting their children’s educational expenses.
In his words, while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by Mega Icon Magazine, Osodeke said, “Today, universities are arbitrarily increasing tuition fees.
“Is that correct in an environment today where the minimum wage is N30,000 per month and where they have to pay rent and pay heavily for transportation? And you are enforcing this thing on the students?
As a result of this – I can assure you that you can check if nothing is done about this heavy fee being introduced all over the country today – in the next two or three years, more than 40 to 50 percent of these students who are in school would drop out. ”
Professor Osodeke has emphasized that if students are unable to afford the increased fees, they may be susceptible to becoming tools for those who seek to destabilize the country. This vulnerability, he asserts, could contribute to making the nation “ungovernable.”
“That is what we are saying: create the environment we had in the ’60s and ’70s,” the ASUU chief said.
“When I was a student, the government was paying me for being a student. Let’s have an environment where the children of the poor can have access to education, not closing them. If you say school fees of N300,000, how can the children of somebody who earns N50,000 a month be able to pay such fee?”
In an effort to address this pressing issue, Professor Osodeke has called upon the Federal Government to take immediate action by substantially increasing its allocation to the education sector.
He urged the government to raise the educational budget to a minimum of 15 percent of the total budget, a significant increase from the previous year’s allocation of 3.8 percent.
The ASUU president’s plea comes at a time when stakeholders are increasingly concerned about the affordability of higher education in Nigeria.
The rising cost of education has raised fears of reduced access to quality education and the potential ramifications for the nation’s future.
The ASUU’s call for a significant budgetary increase underscores the urgency of the situation and the need to ensure that education remains accessible to all eligible Nigerian students, irrespective of their financial backgrounds.
The government’s response to this appeal will be closely watched as the nation grapples with these critical education-related challenges.
