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Students Of College Of Education In Ondo Demand Reversal Of Tuition Fees Increment

According to them, the action will force many students to drop out of school and lead to massive youth unemployment and restiveness.

Aggrieved students of the Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo State have called on the school management to reverse the increase in tuition fees for the 2021/2022 academic session.
 
The students described the increase as “outrageous” considering the current economic hardship being faced by parents and the negative impact of COVID-19.

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According to them, the action will force many students to drop out of school and lead to massive youth unemployment and restiveness.
 
One of the students, Akinyemi Morakinyo (Moray) described the new tuition fees as “satanic, devilish, demonic, obnoxious and outrageous.”
 
He said, “Attention of the students of Adeyemi college of education, Ondo has been drawn to a circular released by the management through the directorate of public relations of the college dated 29th of March, 2022 with reference number ACE/PR/I/PRU/25/28, stating categorically an amount which each level and faculty is to pay for 2021/2022 academics session which student generally considered it inhumane and satanic at a time when the Nigerian students are experiencing various setbacks, unstable and unfriendly economy.
 
“To this end, expectations of our students are that all additional charges included in the breakdown of the tuition fee be removed and reduced respectively on humanitarian grounds.
 
“It is pertinent to remind us that fundamentally, education is a right and not a privilege and also point out the fact that government is the duty bearer and we the younger generation of citizens are the right holder in this context. Unfortunately for our generation, the present-day duty bearer (the government and the college authority) who enjoyed these rights as a student are depriving us of this legitimate right due to incessant hikes in tuition fees which have resulted in students dropping out and deferment, a case study of what happened last academic session.
 
“Students today are now treated as customers, the essence of education is already defeated when both government and school authority see our institution as a profit-making venture.
 
“May I remind us that Nigeria is a signatory to the UNESCO recommendation of 26% of budgetary allocation to education. This is a commitment made by our country internationally and expected to be domesticated locally. Today, our governments at all levels budget less than 10% for the development and funding of education.
 
“The irresponsible federal government led by Muhammadu Buhari in the last seven years never introduced any policy to improve the welfare of both staff and students despite the steady increase in all fees payable by students of tertiary institutions.
 
“A core element of every responsible government and management mission is to make all levels of education from primary to tertiary level accessible to all people, regardless of the economic infrastructure. To survive in a modern economy, education is a must. As such, responsible leadership must view education as a public right and no longer a luxury to be enjoyed only by those who have the money to purchase it for themselves.
 
“As concerned Nigerian students, we publicly declare that the Nigerian students at large vehemently decry the recent hike in our fees because we see it as an attempt to make the sons and daughters of the poor not to have access to education that remains a constitutional and fundamentally right.
 
“Conclusively, we won't hesitate to fight and resist all policies using the instrumentality of the law and all other lawful means to achieve our demands, we will employ constructive criticism and constitutional and universal right (peaceful demonstration/protest) to press home our demands and we will also work closely with all interest that sees to the need for easily accessible and affordable education for all.”
 

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Education