The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a warning against planned tuition fee hikes in universities across Nigeria. In a statement from NANS Senate President Akinteye Babatunde, delivered in Ibadan, Oyo State, the association criticised the recent efforts by some university Vice Chancellors to raise tuition fees. Babatunde expressed NANS’s dissatisfaction with the decision and pledged to work tirelessly to ensure the government reverses it. He also condemned the actions of universities like the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Ibadan, who are reportedly planning unwarranted tuition increases and other charges.
NANS described the tuition fee hikes as irrational actions intended to hinder the effective execution of the Federal Government’s newly launched Student Loan Scheme. According to NANS, they have discovered that university Vice Chancellors are devising strategies to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commendable goal of offering affordable education through the Student Loan Scheme.
He explained that the scheme was intended to relieve students and their families by addressing the financial barriers many Nigerian students face in obtaining quality education.
NANS Calls On FG For Intervention
NANS is urging President Tinubu to promptly investigate this anti-student agenda and take firm action by dismissing the Vice Chancellors who are determined to block educational progress.
NANS emphasised that efforts to raise fees under the pretext of institutional development or financial constraints are unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Nigerian student community.
The students also called on all concerned Nigerians, parents, and education stakeholders to oppose the unjust and irrational fee hikes.
Education should be affordable and accessible to everyone, not used as a means of exploitation. Babatunde reiterated that they are committed to protecting the interests of Nigerian students and ensuring that the scheme is implemented smoothly without unnecessary obstacles.