The National Open University Institution idea was a brilliant one. Brought back to life by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and waxing stronger ever. It proved to be worth it. Employed or uneducated adults and youth entrepreneurs could do their businesses, work, go to school and pay their own fees. It used to be affordable and brilliant for all.
For those who understand the signs of time, for those who learn from history, and for those who care to know the potential pitfalls ahead, I suggest a dogged and unwavering approach to tame the beasts and vampires determined to destroy the future of our nation by driving education into a sinkhole.
I speak for the youths, the down trodden, the poor and the marginalised. I speak for the nation, my generation, parents and the students. What crimes have we the youths committed? What have we the younger generation done to deserve the wanton injustice mete out to us? Perhaps it is true that we need guns and bombs to be heard and to make a change.
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They had free education and all the luxuries that came with it. They had it smooth and convenient. They have their offices, the power and the fat salaries. Why must they put us through hell? We are already in a sauna. Free education is alien, the standard of our education is pitiful, not because there are no funds to provide free education and make the standard better but because we have beasts, vampires, corrupt and greedy ones in control.
It is no more news that thousands of graduates churned out yearly cant get jobs, yet our universities wickedly and cruelly increase tuition fees. If we cannot be guaranteed jobs, at least let education be affordable to us free and cheap, we can forge a life with knowledge gained and build our Nation to perfection.
We might agree partially with State universities and have no problem with Private Universities increase of Tuition fees for a few not so convincing reasons. What shall we say of Federal Universities?
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The National Open University Institution idea was a brilliant one. Brought back to life by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and waxing stronger ever. It proved to be worth it. Employed or uneducated adults and youth entrepreneurs could do their businesses, work, go to school and pay their own fees. It used to be affordable and brilliant for all.
I experienced the genesis of tuition fee increase in Nigeria few years ago. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology increased tuition fees from the convenient #6,000 per session to #40,000 Naira and many other Institutions followed suit. We have experienced astronomical and unjustified increase of tuition fees in our Universities ever after.
I tried to imagine reasons why NOUN would follow suit. I cannot find any. I wondered. Are Federal Universities now for-profit Institutions? Is the purpose of NOUN to make money for the federal government and enrich the pocket of the VC and co? Besides the Funds provided by the Federal Government and judging by the number of Student intake, funds generated from old tuition fee is more than enough to make considerable improvement and development. Generating funds internally is not a good reason to shut the door of education to the many poor people of Nigeria.
We are calling on the federal government to investigate the reckless increase in school fees in NOUN and other Universities born by greed and corruption. The government must take education serious and in doing so, education should be affordable for the poor who live on or below the minimum wage. Anything Short of that is Injustice and Cruel.
We are calling on the decision makers of NOUN not to close the door of education to us but rather reconsider, reverse or reduce the recent increase in tuition fee from #58,000 to #115,000.
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