TASUED raised its fees by between over 200 per cent and 300
per cent. In July, UNILAG increased its tuition to N190,500 from N19,000. The
school blamed this on the high costs of “hostel maintenance, electricity (N1.7
billion per year) and internet services, annual result verification and
certification, programme accreditation….”
The University of Jos, and Bayero University, Kano, also
increased fees. The University of Ibadan had proposed N213,500 and N318,000
from N121,000 and N173,850 for the 2022/2023 academic session.
These fees, which do not include feeding, books, projects,
and other incidentals, are simply enormous and sudden.
It underscores the reality that Nigeria’s federal and state
governments do not fund education adequately. The Federal Government owns 52
universities and grossly under-funds them. Regardless, it recklessly
establishes new universities. In the past 10 years, it has established many
specialised universities, using tertiary education to score cheap political
points. Since 2009, it has not paid up the N1.2 trillion it agreed to under the
MoU it signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities on revitalisation
and salary enhancement.
The Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government last week announced
the commencement of the implementation of a 40 per cent automatic deduction
from internally generated revenues of federal universities, polytechnics, and
colleges of education. This will worsen the crisis.
At 20.1 million, Nigeria has the second highest number of
out-of-school children in the world (UNESCO). Crises pervade all through the
primary, secondary and tertiary education levels.
But education is critical to development. The World Bank
says, “Tertiary education is instrumental in fostering growth, reducing
poverty, and boosting shared prosperity. A highly skilled workforce, with
lifelong access to a solid post-secondary education, is a prerequisite for
innovation and growth.” In today’s knowledge-driven global economy therefore,
everything should be done to revive and strengthen the education sector.
There is no easy way out though. The starting point is to
stop creating public tertiary institutions, so that the existing ones can be
properly funded. Indeed, some new ones should be scrapped and their students
and faculty merged with others. First to go should be the new multiple military
and paramilitary universities that are nothing but wasteful ego trips for their
promoters.
The fee increments are astronomical and too sudden. The
universities should drastically reduce them and introduce increments in small
percentages.
The federal, state, and local governments should provide
multi-layered funding for students, especially grants, and partial and full
scholarships. Bursaries by state governments should be automatic for students.
Supported by NGOs, philanthropists and faith-based institutions, the Federal
Government should make its loan scheme available quickly; and states and LGs
should follow suit.
Ultimately, through diverse funding options from public and
private sources, all Nigerians desirous of tertiary education must not be
denied. -PUNCH