The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has rejected arbitrary increases in tuition and other charges by universities and other tertiary institutions, saying the burden of financing public education should not be transferred to vulnerable students.
NANS President, Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, stated this in a statement on Thursday while reacting to the recently reviewed charges by Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
Afeez said although NANS supports the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the student loan scheme should not be regarded as a substitute for adequate government funding of public universities.
He explained that NELFUND is a loan scheme and not a grant, stressing that beneficiaries would eventually be required to repay the funds obtained after graduation and securing employment.
According to him, the availability of NELFUND does not mean that students can automatically afford any level of tuition or other institutional charges.
“I support NELFUND. I have consistently supported NELFUND because I believe no Nigerian student should be denied access to tertiary education simply because his or her parents cannot immediately afford the cost of education.
“However, supporting NELFUND does not mean that NANS should outrightly support every increase in tuition fees. NELFUND is a loan scheme, and not a grant. Hence, students have to come back to repay whatever amount is obtained from NELFUND,” he said.
The NANS president maintained that NELFUND was established to provide financial support to students, cautioning tertiary institutions that this should not make them to continuously increase tuition fees.
He said there was a distinction between determining who should fund the running of universities and determining how much students should be required to pay.
Afeez acknowledged the rising cost of running universities, including electricity, diesel, laboratory materials, maintenance and staff welfare, but argued that such increases should not automatically be transferred to students.
He maintained that since the Federal Government owns and funds federal universities, attention should first be given to the adequacy, transparency and efficiency of government funding.
The NANS president therefore called for greater transparency from institutions seeking to increase student charges, asking ABU and other universities to disclose their funding requirements and the rationale behind any proposed increases.
He asked: “How much does the Federal Government currently allocate to ABU? How much does ABU generate internally? What is the actual cost of running the university? What percentage of that cost is already covered by government subvention? What exactly necessitated the increment? What services are students receiving in return?
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“And most importantly, was every available alternative explored before transferring additional costs to students and their parents?”
According to him, “accountability must precede an increment in tuition fees.”
Afeez also cautioned against using the existence of NELFUND as justification for making tertiary education more expensive, noting that students still have to meet other costs, including food, accommodation, transportation and internet access.
He said: “The scheme is to make education more accessible; it should not become a justification for making education more expensive.”
He urged the Federal Government to continue playing its primary role in adequately funding public universities, while university managements should explore legitimate revenue-generating opportunities and improve efficiency.
On the rising cost of electricity, Afeez said the inability of a university to meet its electricity bill should not automatically result in an increase in student charges.
He argued that where electricity is essential for teaching, research and laboratory activities, it should be treated as part of the cost of providing public education and appropriately funded.
The NANS president stressed that the students’ body was not at war with ABU management, saying the Vice-Chancellor, university management, ASUU and students should not be viewed as adversaries.
He said the central issue was how to sustainably finance public universities without making higher education unaffordable for Nigerian students.
Afeez said NANS would engage ABU management, the Federal Government, NELFUND and student leaders to seek a sustainable solution.
He added that where the university could demonstrate that additional charges were necessary, NANS would listen, while insisting on reductions where charges could be lowered and special consideration for categories of students requiring assistance.
“If the Federal Government needs to increase funding to ABU to reduce the burden on students, NANS will engage the government,” he said.
Afeez further warned that continuous increases in institutional charges could place an even greater financial burden on NELFUND and potentially undermine the purpose of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND should complement government funding rather than replace it.
He therefore called for a transparent assessment of the actual cost of running public universities, government allocations, internally generated revenue and the charges imposed on students.
“Because the solution to underfunding Nigerian universities cannot always be: ‘Increase the tuition fees.’
“And the solution from students cannot always be: ‘Reduce the charges.’
“Both positions are incomplete without answering the most important question: how do we properly fund public universities without making university education unaffordable for the Nigerian student?” he said.
Afeez reaffirmed NANS’ support for NELFUND and its advocacy for adequate funding of public universities and affordable, quality tertiary education for Nigerian students.