The House of Representatives has moved to check rising school fees in public tertiary institutions, urging the Federal Government to suspend recent increases and investigate their impact on students and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, Hon. Ifeoluwa Ehindero, during plenary on Tuesday.
The House urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to engage the managements of public tertiary institutions on suspending the fee increases and reviewing their tuition structures in line with prevailing economic realities.
Lawmakers also called on the Federal Government to increase financial subventions to public tertiary institutions to reduce their reliance on revenue generated from students.
Moving the motion, Ehindero said NELFUND was established to provide interest-free loans to eligible students, particularly those facing financial difficulties, to enable them to access tertiary education.
He warned that sudden and arbitrary increases in tuition and other mandatory charges could undermine the objectives of the loan scheme, which was designed around existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost structures.
According to the lawmaker, several public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have recently increased their fees, with some hikes reportedly exceeding 100 per cent.
He expressed concern that the increases were implemented without adequate consultation or sufficient consideration of the financial pressures confronting Nigerian households.
Ehindero warned that unchecked fee increases could widen inequality in access to higher education, leaving students from less affluent families at a disadvantage and frustrating the government’s efforts to make tertiary education more accessible through NELFUND.
He further cautioned that the situation could trigger increased student dropouts, campus unrest and a loss of public confidence in the government’s commitment to affordable education.
To address the situation, 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 fee increases.
.
The investigation is expected to establish the basis for the increases and help ensure that tuition policies reflect prevailing economic realities without undermining students’ access to higher education.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
