Following releases issued by some federal and state-owned universities on the increase in fees, parents and students have lamented that the development will cause them more economic hardship and may lead to withdrawal of students.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, directed the National Universities Commission (NUC) to immediately halt the implementation of an increment in the tuition fees of Nigerian federal universities in the country.
The directive was contained in a motion sponsored by Rep. Aliyu Sani Madaki (NNPP, Kano), who noted that the universities across the country, citing poor funding of tertiary education and rising inflation, had increased their tuition fees up to 200 per cent.
He added that hostel fees were also increased by some of the institutions, which include Bayero University, Kano; the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; the University of Uyo; University of Maiduguri; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike; and Federal University, Dutse, among others.
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Leading the debate, Madaki worried that the hike in fees came at a time the is facing worsening poverty level, inflation, high rate of unemployment as well as hike in the price of fuel owing to the removal of subsidy.
“citing the poor funding of Tertiary Education and rising inflation in the country, Federal Universities across the country increased their tuition fees by tuition fees from 100% to 200% while hostel fees were increased from 50% to 100%;
“Concerned that the hike in fees by the universities is happening against the worsening poverty level in the country, inflation and high rate of unemployment, and the recent fuel price hike.”
The lawmaker worried that the increase could lead to disruptions for several students, who are unable to afford the fees, adding that many of them would be forced to defer their studies, others could drop out entirely, which could further worsen the insecurity in the country.
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In adopting the motion, the House also directed its committee on tertiary education, when constituted, to investigate the matter with a view to finding lasting solutions to the challenges in the tertiary education sector.
In a related motion, the House also urged the Federal Government to reverse the recent hike of school fees in Unity Schools.
The resolution contained a motion moved by Rep. Saidu Abdullahi (APC, Niger) and Rep. Kama Nkemkanma (LP, Ebonyi).
