My sister rushed home crying and everybody in the family was disturbed and agitated by her revelation. We had expected her to be participating in the NYSC early this year. That was however not to be as her school, Lead City University Ibadan, had a backlog of students awaiting call up. We all consoled her that going by the words of the University and considering that she was done with all her academic requirements she would be mobilised for the scheme later this year perhaps with the First batch or at most with July Batch.
Alas, we were off the mark; the crisis was deeper. She revealed to us that the university management had issued a statement that most of, if not all, their 100 level results were missing. As a result they have to retake those courses and pay N50, 000 per course before they can be considered for graduation and subsequently participate in the NYSC scheme.
There are questions that must be answered. Firstly, whose responsibility is it to keep academic records? This is a rhetorical question. Secondly, didn’t the university release those results in that session? Yes, they did. This raises question on what money being charged is meant for. Is it for allotting marks? Also what is the role of NUC in this embarrassing matter?
This ugly development at the Lead City University goes beyond mere exploitation of the poor by the rich but further shows that private university is no solution to the decay in the education sector. It also reveals that no amount of money paid by individuals or parents can adequately fund quality education.
The fact is that most of these private universities that have mushroomed over the decaying public education are substandard and “cash and carry” institutions, or at best glorified secondary schools. They lack adequate facilities for quality learning and are grossly understaffed. They rely on the part-time service of teachers from the public universities. I, indeed, reliably gathered that most of the lecturers who thought the courses in question have left the Lead City University for better welfare packages elsewhere. The prevailing exploitation in the private universities and without a corresponding output in terms of quality of graduates proves that only the UNECSO prescribed standard on public funded education, 26% budgetary allocation, could be enough to save education. Incidentally, Nigeria is a signatory to UNESCO charter, but to our successive governments, it is nothing but chatter.
Let me use this medium to urge the government not to go ahead with the proposed N180, 000 tuition fee. I join many well meaning Nigerians who hold strongly that education funding is a social responsibility of the government and that the public resources should be used and channeled into public utilities. Not spending public wealth on common good, in line with neo-liberal philosophy, only makes it available for looting, and thus further oils the wheel of corruption.
On a conclusive note, I want to appeal passionately to the Ministry of Education and the NUC to prevail on the management of Lead City University to immediately refund the illicit, unjustified money collected from the helpless and hapless students who are desperate to graduate and be mobilised for NYSC scheme.
Weep not my beloved sister, justice shall be done soonest!
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Highbee Opeyemi, an unemployed graduate writes from Lagos. [email protected]
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