NANS Gives Akeredolu Two-Week Ultimatum to Reverse Fee Hike

Fidelis David

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given a two-week ultimatum to the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) to reverse the increase in the school fees across the state tertiary institutions, particularly, that of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.

This is coming few months after the management of the state-owned university announced the hike in its school fees by over 100 per cent for the 2021/2022 academic session, the development which generated various divergent views from stakeholders.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Akure yesterday, the students led by Ondo NANS JCC Chairman, Comrade Omotosho Surprise, kicked against the increment, explaining that most students who could no longer meet up with the increase have withdrawn from school.

Omotosho, who explained that there was no reason for the state to increase the school fees, considering the current economic challenges the state was facing, noted that the hike in Ondo medical school fees was a notice for parents to withdraw their children.

He said: “It saddens my heart to inform you that tertiary education has been taken away from the reach of indigent citizens of the state. Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the first governor of Ondo state knew the importance of education when he championed tree, fair and quality education. This legacy was sustainable until the arrival of the incumbent administration and their shocking believe that education is not meant for the poor.

“The systemic destruction of Ondo state education legacy by the incumbent administration is not only shocking but condemnable. While schools are starved of subvention, our government serenade themselves to luxurious lifestyle and urge schools to look inward for revenue. One wonders if truly the administration is recouping what it spent to acquire the exalted office. Daily, we watch helplessly as our colleagues drop out of school and others resorting to self-help.

“To worsen situation, the state’s irregular payment of salaries has turned our education system into what we Yoruba call “abika”. Our lecturers are owed substantial amounts of salaries. Some haven’t been paid for the past six to seven months. How do they want these lecturers to feed or remain incorruptible when they are not paid? One of the reasons the government gave for the increments in tuition was that quality education is not cheap. But sadly, the standard of education on our campuses are dwindling daily with our lecturers preoccupied with how to manage and fend for their families.”

The students urged the state government to the reverse the tuition of schools across the state, stressing that notmany families in a predominantly civil servant state like Ondo can afford N2 million per session.

Reacting, the state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Femi Agagu said the institution is a specialised institution meant for people who can afford the fees.

He said: “UNIMED has limited number of students it could admit, so it is not by force for people to go and train at UNIMED. There are federal universities where these courses are being offered. So, the options are very open.

“Some people send their children to Afe Babalola, BABCOCK, because they want them to be among the best. So, those who can’t afford UNIMED can go to federal school. The best government could do is what it is doing.

“UNIMED is a specialised institution. When you graduate from there, people’s lives will be placed in your hands. So, we have to be sure that products of such institution must be well prepared for life after graduation. In their own case, you have to compare them with universities like, BABCOCK, covenant, Afe Babalola. So, if you want to train doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists and other experts, that will go into the world to practice the same medicine with people from private institutions, there is a standard they must attain.

“The ones in private, they paid N3 million and nobody is paying above N500,000 in UNIMED”.

The commissioner noted that the fee hike at Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, was negotiated between the school management and the students and was only for new entrants.

“When you gain admission to university, the school will give you conditions for admission and you have to pay acceptance fee, and you know how much fees you are supposed to pay. You have signed a contract with the school.

“There hasn’t been any recent review of school fees. The one that took place was in 2018 or so. And this review is usually at the instance of the governing council of these tertiary institutions. Government gives subvention to these schools on a monthly basis and it is the duty of the universities council and management to run the schools effectively.

“But when it becomes difficult for them to do, that is when they approach the government. The last exercise was a very thorough one because the governor made it clear that no higher institution in Ondo State is paying tuition fees higher than any institution in the southwest. So, the management of Adekunle Ajasin University went beyond the southwest states institutions and some private and federal institutions and there was a thorough study of how much is paid there and that was what guided in adjusting the fees and this was even done vis-a-vis what is required to run the institutions because it is important to have a university that can produce graduates that will be able to get jobs before talking about whether the fee is high.

“So, the management came up with what is needed to run the institution on yearly basis. We looked at what the government is giving as subvention, we also look at what the school is generating internally and it was on that basis that we agreed on the minimal adjustment in order to keep the system running.

“It was also done in a way that it won’t affect those who are already in the school. The increment was for freshers, not for those who are already in school. It was also based on courses. For engineering, agriculture and law the fees are little bit higher because it requires a lot of new facilities than the basic sciences and others,” Agagu stressed.