To mitigate the financial blow from the loss of the gasoline subsidy, the National Association of Nigerian Students has advocated for a cut in tuition at all Nigerian universities.
According to The PUNCH, the North Central Zone Coordinator, NANS,Shedrack Anzaku, made this comment to newsmen Thursday in Abuja, at the official declaration of Deniran Rioborue as an aspirant for NANS National President.
Anzaku said, “What the association expects is school fees reduction and not increment because the rate of dropout is increasing.
“We frown on all forms of school fees increment at a time like this when there is increased hardship across the country.
“We find it hard to understand the increment because diesel is what schools use mostly and the price of diesel has reduced, so we expect reduction in all ramifications.”
Anzaku recalled that students in that school had not returned because of a rise in school fees when he spoke with the President, Students Union Government, Bida Polytechnic, last week.
He continued by saying that despite the rector cutting the school fees by N10,000, classes had not started up again.
This, according to him, prompted the NANS leadership to contact the National Universities Commission and ask it to pressure tertiary institutions to lower tuition.
However, he applauded the federal government for passing the student loan law to lessen the financial burden of higher education on students.
“We also kick against hike in school fees on account of the students’ loan initiative because it is meant to assist students to get a proper education.
“We have written to the NUC to call on schools to reduce school fees else we will protest in large numbers.
We are going on a campus tour to talk to vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts to reduce school fees,” he added.
