Anambra State Govt. Must Increase Funding Of Education Upto 26%
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condemns the Anambra state government and the university management of Anambra State University (ANSA) for increasing the school fees from N36,000 to N86,000 for non-medical students, N120,000 for medical students.
Anambra State Govt. Must Increase Funding Of Education Upto 26%
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condemns the Anambra state government and the university management of Anambra State University (ANSA) for increasing the school fees from N36,000 to N86,000 for non-medical students, N120,000 for medical students.
We see this increment as unjustifiable and anti-people. We do not need a soothsayer to tell us that some students will be forced to withdraw from school should the new fee regime is left to remain.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
Besides, there is no reason to increase fees in a country wherein many workers/parents earn poverty wages and many are losing jobs by the day, considering also the rising cost of living and inflation. In fact, what we should be working towards across the federation is to expand and upgrade the current state of facilities in schools and also build new schools with basic facilities and well trained workers to guarantee meaningful learning. At present less than 10 percent of applicants get admission to the universities as a result of limited facilities. Now, those who got admitted would lose their studentship because they cannot afford the new fee hike regime. We of the ERC say No to “cash and carry” public education.
The ERC commend the students for conducting a peaceful protest against the hike on Thursday April 14 2011 in Anambra State despite police provocation and harassment. It has proved that students can organize peaceful resistance and protest. We call on the students to continue on the struggle and deepen it by reaching out to lecturers, non-academic staff, parents, trade unions etc., to support their struggle to defeat the obnoxious fee. We encourage the students to organize more peaceful protests, demonstrations, lecture boycotts, and other means available to draw the attention to their plights.
The spate of increment in school fees like other anti-people policies goes to show that the ruling class lacks the ability to move the economy forward. The speed at which those in the position of authority increase their salaries, allowances and use other means to shortchange the system only points to the fact that the living conditions of the working people will be under constant attacks. These neo-liberal capitalist attacks come through different ways such as increment in fees (commercialization of education), increment in taxes and other forms of tariffs, retrenchment of workers, cuts in social services etc.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });
Hence, we call on the Anambra state government to increase the allocation to the institution to the level that will not only make it possible to revert the school fees to N36000 but also to that level wherein school fees would be abrogated soon.
The ERC calls on the local unit of the Academic Staff Union of the University led by Mr. Jaja Nwachukwu to come out from its ambivalent position to fully support the struggle of the students to defeat the hike. We want to state that it was not the struggle of university workers alone that won wage increment for the lecturers but for the support other strata of the society gave to the struggle.
Members of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), many of whom were students across the federation fully supported ASUU’s demand for wage increment and proper funding of education through several mass protests. And the relation between the lecturers and students should be seen as parents and wards both of whom are exploited by the ruling capitalist class. The obvious truth is that students and their parents are forced to pay for the wage increment the Anambra state government like other governments has conceded to lecturers. We also appeal to lecturers being used by the management to enforce this increment by way of denying students who have not paid the new fees the right to sit for tests to desist from it and consequently give support to students.
We challenge the state government led by Peter Obi to open the financial books of Anambra state for public scrutiny. This will enable the public to know how the funds are being utilized. This is because we are sure that the problem is not so much of inadequate funds but the way and manner the funds are being utilized which in most cases are not only wasted but also looted.
However, we are demanding that elected representatives of students and education workers should be part of a committee that should democratically run the education sector and all tertiary institutions in the state.
ERC hereby reiterate our demand for governments at all levels to fund education adequately such that at least 26% of the budget should be allocated to education; and the salaries and allowances of political office holders should be reduced to the average emolument of a skilled worker while the remaining should be ploughed back to education and other sectors.
Hassan Taiwo Soweto Chinedu Bosah
National Coordinator National Secretary
07033697259 08098284000
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });