By John Ikani
The Nigerian government has prohibited federal universities from requesting tuition fees from students across the country.
This was made known by the Permanent Secretary at the federal education ministry, David Adejo during a public hearing held by the House of Representatives’ ad committee on student loans in Abuja.
Adejo expressed his dissatisfaction with the recent surge in tuition fees at federal universities in the country, stressing that the development was unfortunate.
“What they collect are fees aimed at covering the expenses for accommodation, ICT, power, and more. The authority to approve such charges lies with the universities’ governing councils,” the government official informed the parliament.
“The University of Lagos is the sole institution that raised charges subsequent to the enactment of the student loans act.”
Adejo further elaborated, “They approached the ministry with a request to elevate their charges due to the dissolution of all governing councils. We granted them permission.”
He added, “As soon as this occurred, the House passed a resolution halting the fee increase. In addition, the president issued a directive to prevent any fee hikes, and that remains the current situation, even though several others have submitted similar proposals.”
The official also clarified that the fees collected by the universities were allocated for various services, including electricity bills.
He refuted claims that the implementation of the student loan bill was responsible for the escalation in university charges.
