National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has rejected the recent decision by the University of Ibadan in Oyo State to increase tuition fees for new intake students to N412,000 per session.
The public relations officer of NANS, Gundu Mimidoo Joy, in a press statement yesterday, said the unjustifiable increment poses a significant threat to affordability and accessibility to education in the country bearing in mind that education is a right and not a privilege.
“NANS is deeply concerned that such a steep rise in tuition fees will make it increasingly difficult for the children of the taxpayers to pursue higher education.
“The decision reflects a lack of commitment from the management of the university to national development.
“This deliberate attempt by the leadership of the university to put the federal government in bad light cannot go unnoticed as hope has been snuffed out of the citizens by this decision.”
She said, “Furthermore, the current economic climate, characterized by soaring prices of basic commodities, places an immense burden on students and their families already struggling to make ends meet.
“We call upon the university authorities to reconsider this regressive move, which only serves to widen the already existing educational inequality in our society.”
