Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Institutions, has issued a stern warning, cautioning that if the Federal Government does not intervene to curb the consistent rise in fees at educational institutions, a substantial 40 to 50 percent of students may be forced to drop out within the next two years.
Expressing his concerns, Osodeke remarked, “Today, universities are arbitrarily increasing tuition fees. Is that correct in an environment today where the minimum wage is N30,000 per month and where they have to pay rent and pay heavily for transportation? And you are enforcing this thing on the students?”
Osodeke went on to emphasize that if immediate action is not taken to address the soaring fees that are cropping up across the country’s institutions, he foresees a grim future where more than 40 to 50 percent of current students will be compelled to abandon their education.
“As a result of this – I can assure you that you can check if nothing is done about this heavy fee being introduced all over the country today – in the next two or three years, more than 40 to 50 per cent of these students who are in school would drop out.
“If you say school fees of N300,000, how can the children of somebody who earns N50,000 a month be able to pay such fee?”
In recent months, numerous public universities have adjusted their tuition fees, citing economic challenges in the nation as the underlying cause. While some institutions have made slight fee reductions in response to student protests, Osodeke remains deeply concerned about the financial strain that these new fees will place on parents and guardians.
In light of these challenges, he urged the government to allocate a more substantial portion of the national budget to education, advocating for a minimum allocation of 15 percent.
Osodeke pointed out that the previous budget’s allocation of a mere 3.8 percent to education was grossly inadequate, and increasing the educational budget allocation would alleviate the financial burden on parents who are struggling to afford exorbitant fees for their children’s education.
Additionally, Osodeke expressed skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the government’s student loan scheme and called for a comprehensive review of the lending policy to ensure its viability.
In his efforts to address this pressing issue, Professor Osodeke implored the Federal Government to significantly boost the educational budget, advocating for an increase to “at least 15 percent from last year’s 3.8 percent.”