The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), North East region, has decried the recent increase in students’ registration and school fees by 150% or 200%, saying it is a threat to students’ educational rights.
The Vice President of NANS, Comrade Suleiman Muhammad Sarki, stated this on Thursday during a press conference at the NUJ Press Center Maiduguri.
Comrade Sarki added that the increase in the students’ payments are both unacceptable and clear indices that could instigate the conscription of students as Boko Haram insurgents, kidnappers, bandits and thieves.
He also called on Nigerian elite, education stakeholders, community, religious, traditional, women, youth and students leaders to intervene before the situation gets out of hand.
He further threatened that NANS would not hesitate to embark on a two-week warning strike before embarking on nationwide massive protest across the country.
He said: “If the Nigerian universities are allowed to go ahead with their school registration fees increment threats, with the biting economic recession and collapse of the nation’s education system coupled with the ASUU and NASU strikes, the whole issue is uncalled for and unnecessary.
“Nigerian Students are shocked, surprised and condemn in totality the sudden increases of registration fees and other charges the Nigerian universities have introduced just about 8 months into the ASUU long strike which was recently called off.
He explained that the universities were claiming that the school facilities were decadent and becoming obsolete for the students and lecturers, teaching and learning materials without government interventions which received unanimous resolutions of various Governing Council.
”As students’ leaders and advocates of qualitative education, we are worried about the level of government’s insincerity to give the needed priority to the nation’s education at all levels.
”The standard of education continues to go down due to the insensitivity of government and the inability to provide conducive teaching, learning, and working environment through lack of basic facilities that would make them compete with their peers in other parts of Africa not even globally.
”However, we shall continue to express our displeasure about any registration charges increment by the universities, due to the fact that, it is not only capitalistic in tone which thousands of returning students cannot afford, but also an attempt to further deny Nigerian citizens access to education especially, in Northeast region,” Suleiman said.
He also asserted that the increment might undoubtedly affect the ongoing peace-building process in the zone at this critical time of hardship on Nigerians by a sadistic government at the federal level, stressing that, increment of any magnitude of the registration charges increment would definitely lead to a huge number of school dropouts across the country.
”We tag this as alarming threats that need an urgent response and intervention of all especially in the northeast.
”The recent hike in registration charges by some Nigerian universities did not only come to us as a surprise but as an affront to the war against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, such that students who are unable to pay the new fee might end up becoming dropouts and this will add to the rising number of youth restiveness in the Nigeria.
”This may also in return increase the number of insurgents, bandits and kidnappers with fresh and dangerous intellectual school dropout due to university registration charges increment that they cannot afford.I, as a returning student from one of Universities in Northeast,” the Vice President added.
”By so doing, many students, God forbid, many students may be tempted to aggressively and angrily join the team of insurgents, bandits or kidnappers. As such, I want to let the whole world know before it is too late, that thousands of Nigerian university students may end up joining one of the above mentioned criminal sects if government did not intervene to rescind the universities’ governing councils on the charges increment.
“At this juncture, we are calling and urging the business tycoons around the globe and international communities, to please rescue our universities from imminent collapse, as the Nigerian government has no intention to prioritize the nation’s education.
“We implore all Universities students not to proceed with the payment of the new registration charges and await the outcome of NANS’ strategic action plan.
“May we call on all elderly statesmen, relevant stakeholders in the educational sector, traditional leaders, ulamas and priests to please intervene by prevailing on the Governing Councils of all Nigerian Universities especially in Northeast zone to rescind their decision,” Sarki said.
-Media Report