NANS rejects tuition fees increase by varsities

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) will resist plans by some tertiary institutions to increase tuition fees, its President, Mr Chinonso Obasi has said.

Obasi, in a statement he issued on Wednesday in Abuja, said that NANS had received the report that no fewer than 38 tertiary institutions had concluded plans to jack up tuition fees.

The NANS president said that the association was pained by the move as Nigerian students had over the years been made to bear the brunt of administrative ineptitude of managers of tertiary institutions.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had on Monday alerted Nigerians to the increase of tuition fees by 38 universities due to poor funding by the federal and state governments.

 He regretted that the APC-led administration had not showed enough commitment to improving the education sector and the plight of students.

He said that Nigerian students did not deserve such harsh punishment as fee increase would further limit the capacity of students to dream of a better future.

“Consequently NANS wishes to serve notice to the authorities concerned that Nigerian students will never endure any increase in tuition at this time of the nation’s socio-economic challenges.
“If administrators of Nigeria’s educational institutions have run out of ideas of funding and sustaining educational institutions in the country, they should feel free to liaise with students to explore new ways of funding the institutions. 

“The President Buhari administration should recognise that this is time to reward the understanding and cooperation of Nigerian students with education subsidy, proper funding of education and adequate welfare initiatives for students,’’ he said.

NAN