It warned that if the university authorities failed to reverse the trend, the association would have no other choice than to embark on a mass protest nationwide.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has rejected the outrageous hikes in school fees by most federal universities for both new and returning students.
It warned that if the university authorities failed to reverse the trend, the association would have no other choice than to embark on a mass protest nationwide.
The National Vice President of the association, Suleiman Sarki, stated this while briefing journalists on Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Sarki said the hike would particularly have a negative impact on students from the North-East region, who had been severely affected by 13 years of insurgency, Leadership reports.
He said NANS had issued a week ultimatum to the management of University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) to rescind its decision or face a massive protest across the country.
Sarki said that the University of Maiduguri had increased its registration fee by 200 per cent, expressing concern that the outrageous fee could result in a mass dropout of students.
He said, “The recent hike in registration charges by some northeastern universities does not only come to us as a surprise but as an affront to the war against insurgency, such that students who are unable to pay the new fees might end up becoming drop out and this will add to the rising number of youth restiveness in the region.”
The NANS Vice President urged students not to pay the new registration charges but to await the outcome of NANS strategic action plan as the association had commenced consultation with the management of the University of Maiduguri.
He called on stakeholders in the education sector across the country to intervene by prevailing on the governing councils of Federal Universities to rescind their decision.
The Governing Council of UNIMAID had on December 1, 2022, approved the review of registration charges for undergraduate and postgraduate students following the rising cost of teaching and learning materials.