Reps Move To Halt Public Tertiary Institutions’ School Fees Hike

The House of Representatives on Tuesday took steps to halt the recent increase in school fees by public tertiary institutions, considering its impact on Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

It urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to engage with the management of public tertiary institutions to suspend school fees increment and initiate a comprehensive review of tuition structures to align with current economic realities.

The House asked the federal government to consider increasing financial subventions to public tertiary institutions to reduce their dependence on internally generated revenue through students.

These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the chairman, House Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships, and Higher Education Financing, Hon. Ifeoluwa Ehindero at plenary.

Moving the motion, Ehindero noted that the Federal Government recently launched NELFUND with the noble aim of providing interest-free loans to indigent students to access tertiary education without financial hindrance.

Ehindero stated that NELFUND loan scheme was designed based on existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost structures, and that arbitrary or sudden hikes in fees by institutions threaten to undermine the sustainability, equity, and effectiveness of the loan programme.

He observed that the recent and widespread increases in school fees and other mandatory charges by several public tertiary institutions across the country, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, in some cases by over 100% have been implemented, without broad

consultation or consideration of the economic realities facing many Nigerian families.

Ehindero expressed worry that if allowed to continue unchecked, these fee increments may create significant disparities in the allocation of education loans, crowd out students from less affluent backgrounds and frustrate the objectives of NELFUND in bridging access to higher education.

The lawmaker maintained that such trends if not immediately addressed, may lead to increased student dropouts, campus unrest and overall loss of public confidence in government’s commitment to affordable education.

Adopting the motion, the House mandated its Committees on University Education, Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, and Federal Colleges of Education to investigate the extent and justification of the recent school fee increase by public tertiary institutions.